Science and Technology Secretary Mario Montejo. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—With more towns turning green and banning the use of plastic bags in retail packaging, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) has been exploring the use of organic materials as reinforcement fiber as part of its environment-friendly response to the rising demand for paper containers.
“The greater use of paper packaging is in line with our current initiatives that protect the environment and uplift the ecosystem,” said Science Secretary Mario Montejo. “One of the thrusts of the DOST is support (for) green technologies, products, and services,” he added.
Montejo said the DOST’s Forest Products Research and Development Institute-Technology Innovation Division (FPRDI) has finished research on the use of alternative raw materials to produce paper, including fibers sourced from abaca, banana and palm.
The FPRDI, a member of the government committee on standards for board, paper and pulp products, worked with the University of the Philippines Los Baños’ Institute of Plant Breeding to explore the use of abaca as reinforcement fiber, the DOST said.
The division helped push the ban on the use of plastic packaging in Los Baños, Laguna, one of the first towns to do so. At least 27 towns have since passed local ordinances to regulate the use of plastic bags in retail outlets, according to Aimee Beatrix Habon, FPRDI science research specialist.
“Increased demand for pulp and paper means more challenges for the industry and for the DOST-FPRDI,” she added.
“People have become more aware of the environmental risks posed by the continued use of plastics after the onslaught of Typhoon Ondoy,” Habon said, referring to the 2009 typhoon that submerged much of Metro Manila. Plastic bags found to be clogging most of the city’s waterways have been blamed for the rapid rise of floodwaters at the height of the typhoon.