The Board of Investments said Tuesday it approved the application of OIKOS Sustainable Solutions Inc. to manufacture eco-friendly and sustainable Hidrobags.
OIKOS pledged to invest P35 million in a production facility along Dona Remedios Trinidad Highway, Baliuag, Bulacan. The company will produce Hidrobags at an annual capacity of 720,000 kilos.
The Filipino-owned corporation will start commercial operations in August 2021. The project is estimated to hire 15 to 31 local employees.
The company will manufacture sustainable packaging products called “Hidrobags” as an alternative to paper and plastic bags and to provide a solution to the growing concerns on plastic bags and marine litter.
OIKOS will manufacture shopping bags, dissolvable laundry bags, trash bags, keep bags and mailer bags using the hidrobag technology.
Hidrobag is currently being produced in Costa Rica with the main office in Chile. The raw material is manufactured in Indonesia while manufacturing machines come from China.
The Department of Trade and Industry said the company was in search to find sustainable packaging as an alternative to paper and plastic bags. From Latin America, OIKOS brought the technology to the Philippines after it signed a licensing and distribution contract with Hidrobag Corp. S.A., the owner of the proprietary right over the brand name “Hidrobag”.
The production process uses natural polymers that are not harmful to the environment. Hidrobag looks like plastic but has no plastic content as it will be manufactured using cassava starch and naturally-derived vegetable oils.
The manufacturing process for Hidrobags is similar to the manufacturing of petroleum-based plastic bags, OIKOS said. The company believes that the project is a pioneering project based on the raw materials that the company will utilize.
The bags degrade naturally even in the landfill in 180 days. It is compostable and water-soluble above 70 degrees centigrade. It can even be eaten by fish if thrown into the oceans. It is non-toxic, plastic-free, has no greenhouse effect, and is completely biodegradable.
OIKOS is looking at supplying to companies and establishments that are shifting to eco-friendly products such as supermarkets, convenience stores, hospitals, hotels, boutique shops, and local government municipalities.