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| - Fact Check: Thermocol recycling video shared as production of artificial sugar
A video is circulating on the Internet with the claim that it shows artificial sugar being made from thermocol.
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India Today Fact Check
Conclusion - Experts have clarified that the video shows recycling of thermocol into synthetic resins for reuse. The plastic granules are then used for production of different plastic products such as chairs, tables, toys, decorative items, etc.
We have come across several news items and social media posts about eggs, rice and even milk being allegedly made from plastic. Many of these reports were later proven wrong.
And now, a video is circulating on the Internet with the claim that it shows artificial sugar being made from thermocol.
The archived versions of similar posts can be seen here, here and here.
India Today Anti Fake News War Room (AFWA) has found the claim along with the video to be misleading. The video actually shows recycling of thermocol.
AFWA probe
With the help of keyword search, we found a similar video in a documentary uploaded on "Entrepreneur India TV", the official YouTube channel of Institute for Industrial Development. IID is an incubator with the Government of India, Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), and the department of start-ups, an initiative of the Uttar Pradesh government.
Similar to the viral video, in this documentary uploaded by IID in October 2020, we can see thermocol being converted into plastic granules. However, as per the documentary, the video shows recycling of thermocol waste that is hazardous to the environment. The video also explains the process and business of recycling thermocol into plastic granules.
We then shared the video in question with IID. Rubbishing the viral claim, a representative of the institution confirmed to AFWA that the video shows recycling of thermocol into plastic granules for reuse.
Plastic granules are used for manufacturing chairs, tables, toys, decorative items and other plastic products.
We also reached out to an expert from the field of polystyrene waste recycling, Dr Chandra Shekhar Sharma, Associate Professor at the Department of Chemical Engineering, IIT Hyderabad.
Commenting on the viral video, Dr Sharma said, "This is thermocol being recycled into resins. Thermocol is first melted as slime and then subjected to wet spinning, followed by crushing to make resins."
We also found multiple other videos where thermocol can be seen recycled into resins.
Moreover, we could not find any credible report published recently about artificial sugar made from thermocol being caught anywhere in India.
Even in 2017, similar videos of plastic recycling were circulating on social media as of artificial sugar production.
According to a report by "The Hindu Business Line", in 2017, the then minister of state for consumer affairs had told the Lok Sabha in a written reply that the government was aware of reports of rice and sugar being made of plastic. He, however, had said that no specific case of the presence of plastic rice and sugar had been detected in the country.
Hence, we can conclude that though food adulteration is not uncommon, the viral video actually shows recycling of thermocol and not production of artificial sugar.
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