September 23, 2026: Plastic alternatives are moving from stainability conversations into actual packaging decisions. In Kerala, Kochi-based Greenbio Products is working on one such shift with bottles made from polylactic acid, or PLA, a material derived from renewable sources such as corn starch, sugarcane and cassava.
The startup has now found a customer in Hilly Aqua, the Kerala government-owned bottled drinking water company, which plans to use Greenbio’s PLA packaging for drinking water.
Founded in 2019 by Pradeep Kokkatt and Dr Aliasgar Vora, Greenbio developed what it describes as a commercially viable product by 2024. Its approach is not limited to bottles. The company supplies preforms to a private company in Malappuram and is also developing biodegradable straws and liquor bottles.
𝗔𝘀 𝗯𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗯𝗲𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰, 𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗻𝗯𝗶𝗼 𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗣𝗟𝗔
PLA is different from conventional plastic because it is made from renewable feedstocks rather than petrochemicals. Under industrial composting conditions, it can break down into carbon dioxide, water and biomass. Greenbio says its products can degrade in about a month in an industrial setting, while degradation outside those conditions can take several months depending on factors such as humidity and soil bacteria.
For Greenbio, the bigger opportunity appears to be outside Kerala. The company says it has received enquiries from companies in neighbouring states and Dubai, and plans to limit its Kerala partnerships while looking at markets elsewhere in India and overseas.
There is also a manufacturing challenge to solve. Greenbio currently outsources production to factories in Tamil Nadu and has approached Kerala’s industries department for space to establish its own facility for manufacturing raw materials and preforms.
That makes the company’s next phase less about proving that an alternative material exists and more about whether it can be produced, supplied and adopted at the scale packaging companies need.
The company claims Their bottles decompose in just 180 days, leaving behind only water, CO2, and biomass. It says their bottles mimic plastic but are kind to the Earth. PLA looks and feels like plastic, but is completely biodegradable.
