ecopack - Eco-design startup focusing in minimizing the impact of small and micro plastics pollution to environment caused by packaging solutions.

2. Sav i n g Pl an et from M I CRO PL A ST I CS
Sree Sastha Ramesh |sreesastha02@gmail.com| Bangalore | 04 June 2021

3. Eco
-
Design
Startup..
is an eco-design startup focusing in
minimizing the impact of small
and micro plastics pollution to
environment caused by packaging solutions.

4. M I C R O P L A S T I C S
p o l l u t i o n i s t h e
m o s t p r e s s i n g
e n v i r o n m e n t a l
p r o b l e m o f 2 1 s t
c e n t u r y …
Land fill – Non-Re-cyclable
Many type of packaging take long time to
degrade. Small and micro plastics which are
difficult to recycle eventually end up in landfill,
degrading the earth’s naturality.
2 - S o l i d w a s t e : A n o v e r l o o k e d s o u r c e o f m i c r o p l a s t i c s t o t h e e n v i r o n m e n t | Science of The Total Environment Volume 769, 15 May 2021, 144581
What are Microplastics…
Microplastics are tiny plastic particles that result from both
commercial product development and the breakdown of larger
plastics. As a pollutant, microplastics can be harmful to the
environment and animal health.
1 - N a t i o n a l G e o g r a p h i c | R e s o u r c e L i b r a r y
Bird Life – Toxic ingest
Birds ingest plastic packaging both directly and
through the food chain. Birds consume the
small particles that cannot be digested leading
to death
Water fill – Deplete Nature source
From plastic production to use, waste mostly
end up in water. The pellets, the small & micro
plastic waste are washed off into water
resources making them toxic and unusable
Marine Life – Disrupt Food Chain
Garbage dump across the seashore, Pollutes
the marine environment, plastics are fatal for
the sea life. It disrupts the entire food chain
causing an imbalance.
[ 1 ]
[ 2 ]

5. F o o d p a c k a g i n g
r e p r e s e n t s
m o r e t h a n
t w o - t h i r d s o f
a l l p a c k a g i n g …
Why Packaging …
Since 1970, when litter was a significant concern, Packaging has
often been associated with wasteful behavior and they are very
visible part of the environmental problem.
3 – T h e e n v i r o n m e n t a l i m p a c t o f p a c k a g i n g | M a r c h 2 0 0 7 | B o o k : E n v i r o n m e n t a l C o n s c i o u s m a t e r i a l
[ 3 ]
[ 3 ]
Food and drink are used on a daily consistent basis. Important function of
packaging is protection and preservation which is the basic required for the food
industry. Plastics in majority used are thermoplastic organic polymers. They
represent 20% by weight of all packaging material.

6. N e w s p a p e r a r t i c l e s – V a l i d a t i n g t h e P R O B L E M S P A C E
Milk Packaging – s n i p s
a d d s u p t o m i c r o p l a s t i c
p o l l u t i o n
Those microparticles can mix with water, release toxins in the
air when they are further broken down or poison the ground.
Small plastic pieces less than
5cm by 5cm are not being
recycled because they are not
separated from other household
trash.
After all the trash is
dumped in the landfill,
the distinctly visible
plastic are picked up for
recycling. The Bio-
degradable material
from household trash
decay in the landfill,
whereas the small plastic
pieces breakdown into
microparticles because
of the UV rays emitted
from the sun.

7. Eco
-
Design
Brief..
How do we prevent the small snips
generated from milk packets from every
household and get them in to the
recyclable lifecycle.

8. Material Properties
PackagingNon-Biodegradable
plastics
Source of Problem
SegregateSmall
particles,
ends
up
in
dustbin
Scale of the problem
Big
PictureMagnitude
of
the
problem
In India milk is mostly packed and
distributed in low density polyethylene,
which are very cheap and durable. They
are non biodegradable.
Users generally cut and separate an edge
of the packet for the comfortability of
pouring the milk. Then it’s disposed
separately which adds to small plastics.
These plastic are hard to segregate in
landfills. When this plastic is left in the
landfill, it harms the environment.
.
On an average in Bangalore city India,
around 140000 houses use 3 packets of
milk per day. The snip pieces are mostly
not disposed correctly.
This produces 4200000 plastic pieces
everyday. The total mass of small plastic
per day is 840kgs.
4 – P l a s t i c p a c k a g i n g f o r m i l k a n d o t h e r p r o d u c t s : S c a l e o f p r o b l e m i n I n d i a
P o u c h u s e r :
3 0 % i n 2 0 1 9 w i l l i n c r e a s e t o
4 6 % i n 2 0 2 5 [ 4 ]
R a w m a t e r i a l
P r o c e s s e d
R o l l s
P r i n t e d , p a c k e d a n d f i l l e d p a c k e t s
M i l k p a c k e t s n i p p e d a t t h e c o r n e r
S m a l l s n i p s p i l e s u p a s w a s t e
E n d s i n L a n d f i l l
PROBLEM SPACE

9. Solution..
The best way to save small plastic in milk packets
is to eliminate it, getting generated at
the source.

10. Design Solution
ConceptsGenerating
Options
Design options generated based on
context with eco-friendly materials.
Benchmarking | Analysis |
Optimization | Impacting Variables
| Design |Eco- Materials
A w a r e n e s s b y G r a p h i c d e s i g n
SOLUTION SPACE
Process Modelling
CAD
DesignDigital
Modeling
tools
Concepts designed as CAD model,
and I intend to analyze them for
Energy Modeling and Thrermo
Dynamic modeling. Propose to
analyze the design with Data
inventories : Eco-invent
3 D m o d e l s a s s i g n e d a n d e x p e r i m e n t e d w i t h
m a t e r i a l p r o p e r t i e s
Lifecycle assessment
PrototypeBuild
|
Test
|
Feedback
|
Refine
Prototypes were developed to
Validate the proof of concept.
Intend to do Life cycle assessment
from Raw Material | Design |
Manufacturing | Distribution |Use
|Re-use| Recycle perspective
P r o t o t y p e s d e v e l o p e d t o s i m u l a t e a n d R e a l i g n
T o o l t o o p e n m i l k p a c k e t s

11. 1 . ecopack-m : Elastomer Sticker, positioned on
the milk packets, like in a Pad printing process
2. At household, milk packets are opened with
scissors, and the cut-out region in the eco-pack-m,
guides the user to cut in the opened-out region.
Design solution for milk packets
The users are also guided by
visual scissors icon to make a
guided-cut in the region.
The thick edge beading around
the elastomer, visually and
physically prevents the users to
not cut out and snip the corners
fully.
3. After the cut is made, the
edge is flapped out and
inserted in to a groove, so the
cut region does not interfere
when milk is poured.
4. The ecopack-m is enclosed in a region of
35 x 35 mm when folded and made of eco-
friendly elastomer
Small particles do matter – Starting small for a big impact

12. Intended
Results..
Through this project, I intend to
1. Promote awareness about microplastics
2. Packaging Re-Designing with eco-design
principles for the product to be sustainable
across its lifecycle.
Sree Sastha Ramesh |sreesastha02@gmail.com| Bangalore | 04 June 2021