Amazon and the Indian Institute of Technology (ITT) Roorkee have launched a joint effort to create biodegradable mailers from agricultural residues to address the dual challenges of plastic waste and crop stubble burning in India.
The project seeks to repurpose by-products such as wheat straw and sugarcane residue into paper mailers, thus reducing dependence on packaging made from virgin wood pulp.
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Lasting 15 months, the research will focus on converting these crop residues into sturdy, lightweight paper suitable for use as packaging.
The materials developed are intended to be recyclable and compostable at home, offering an alternative to conventional paper and plastic bags.
The practice of burning leftover crop residue is a major source of seasonal air pollution in India.
By finding a market for this waste, the initiative also aims to provide farmers with additional sources of income and reduce the need to import raw wood pulp.
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By GlobalDataDevelopment takes place at the INNOPAP lab within IIT Roorkee’s department of paper and packaging technology.
Here, agricultural waste is processed in an autoclave digester to break it down into pulp. The pulp is then cleaned and processed into paper sheets that meet durability and recyclability criteria set by Amazon.
Leading the research are Professor Vibhore Kumar Rastogi and Dr Anurag Kulshreshtha from IIT Roorkee’s Saharanpur campus.
After laboratory-scale work, successful results could lead to industrial trials and commercial rollout by mid to late next year.
IIT Roorkee director Kamal Kishore Pant said: “Sustainability is no longer a choice, it is an urgent national priority. This collaboration between IIT Roorkee and Amazon is a step towards realising India’s vision of a circular economy, aligned with government missions such as Swachh Bharat, Startup India, circular economy and the National Resource Efficiency Policy.”
“By transforming agricultural residues into biodegradable packaging materials, we are addressing the twin challenges of stubble burning and a reliance on virgin materials in India, while creating scalable solutions that can benefit industries, farmers, and society at large. This initiative showcases how academic research and industry partnerships can accelerate India’s journey towards a more sustainable and self-reliant future.”
Currently, Amazon reports shipping over half its Indian orders in minimal or original product packaging and covers more than 300 cities across the country. Since 2019, its fulfilment centres in India have stopped using single-use plastics for packaging.
Amazon India operations vice-president Abhinav Singh said: “At Amazon, we are building and managing India’s fastest, safest, and most reliable operations network, and we’re committed to making it more sustainable. As part of this effort, we’re partnering with IIT Roorkee to develop innovative packaging from crop residue.”
“India generates nearly 500 million tonnes of this waste annually, and by repurposing it into packaging, we can support a more circular economy while reducing reliance on conventional materials.”
Last year, the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-M) started developing zero-waste bioplastics, as per a report by the Hindu.
