On a visit to India this week, Deva met a slew of Indian leaders and decision-makers, all of whom he has subjected to the hardsell on his pet project: a chemical additive that blends with polythene resins during manufacture and helps it to degrade leaving behind only carbon dioxide and water.

With the Indian Government contemplating a complete ban on thin plastic bags, in less than ten days' time according to Minister for Environment and Forests Suresh Prabhu, the biodegradable option may spell the answer to the question of a replacement for polythene bags.

For what the Government is offering at present to replace the plastic bags is an improbable alternative: paper bags.

When one thinks of the millions of trees that would be felled to make thosepaperbags, it is evident that it is no solution at all. Indeed, environmentalists fear it could be a case of jumping from the proverbial pan into the fire.

In India's case, a ban on thin plastic bags would adversely affect over 200,000 plastic bag manufacturing units, putting nearly a million jobs on the line. The biodegradable option may prove to be just the answer, since the bags could be produced without the environmental hazards that result from non-degradable plastic bags. "Ultimately, its the politicians who have to act. They have to pass the laws which will make people opt for cleaner, more environment-friendly technologies", said Deva.

The chemical additive can be used in different strengths to ensure degradation of the polythene bags from within a few weeks to as long as 5 to 6 years, depending on its use. Usually the additive forms about 3 per cent of the chemicals used to manufacture polythene bags, so it does not change the characteristics of polythene. Within its controlled life-span thepolythene begins to degrade leaving only water and carbon dioxide in negligible quantities.

But if the Indian Government is serious about a particular environmental solution, it has to ensure its implementation as well. The only way out, according to Deva is for government to make biodegradable plastic cheaper to manufacture by lowering the excise duty on the chemical additives, and making dirty plastic more expensive by hiking up the excise duties on non-degradable polythene.

"Its a win-win situation for everyone: for government which collects the same revenues with the additional benefit of environment protection, for the manufacturer who continues to be in business with the new degradable plastic bags and for the people, a cleaner environment", says Deva, an environmental scientist by training.

Deva is a non-executive director of Symphony Environmental, the British company which discovered the breakthrough technology. The 100 per cent degradable polythene, which has already been dubbed a "milleniumproduct", has found many takers in the UK and other Western countries. From British Premier Tony Blair to Environment Minister John Prescott, all jumped at the idea when the product was launched at the House of Commons in December 1998.The World Bank has sought out the technology, since it is currently pouring millions of dollars into international projects to clean up sewerage and sanitation systems across the globe.