Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission (BAEC) has developed an environment friendly jute-made substitute for traditional corrugated iron (CI) sheets.
The product, Jutin, is a result of over two decades of research by Dr Mubarak Ahmed Khan, now a chief scientific officer of Radiation and Polymer Chemistry Laboratory at BAEC.
Ahmed sees a huge prospect of the product since it has a wide range of advantages that the CI sheets do not have.
"No metal is used in Jutin. It's rust-proof and will give service for over 100 years," Khan said at a roundtable in Dhaka yesterday, organised to unveil the product.
The sheet is made of jute hessian cloth and formulated solution of polymer materials, with jute accounting for 30-40 percent of the total ingredients.
Jutin is not biodegradable, but it will not cause any harm to environment as do products such as plastic and polythene, Khan said.
As saline water causes rust to CI sheets, use of the jute-made corrugated sheets will be of great advantage for the people in the costal belt where water is saline.
The scientist said the product is much more durable, strong and also flexible compared to CI sheets. It will also be cost-effective, he said and urged the government to launch a public-private partnership project to produce Jutin commercially.