Plastic
is out, paper is in. And to the mounting
need for paper bags as the best environmental-friendly option, the country’s
science agency is looking into more ways to make paper packaging more
accessible to all and even provide additional income opportunities to people.
[Photo downloaded from Stockfresh.com]
"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 Department of Science and
Technology is the support to green
technologies, products, and services."
In
Metro Manila and nearby areas, more and more local governments are slowly
easing out plastic in their own backyards, compelling stores and vendors to use
paper bags in wrapping their wares. The back to paper drive is considered as
one good way of avoiding the build up of plastic garbage that clogs up the
waterways and contributes to flooding. Plastics likewise are harmful to the
environment because of their chemical content and very long degradation
process, in addition to making the environment look bad.
“People
have become more aware of the environmental risks posed by the continued use of
plastics after the onslaught of typhoon Ondoy. Today, 27 towns already have in
place local ordinances that regulate the use of plastic bags,” said Aimee
Beatrix Habon, Science Research Specialist at DOST’s Forest Products Research
and Development Institute-Technology Innovation Division.
“Increased
demand for pulp and paper means more challenges for the industry and for
DOST-FPRDI as well,” Habon added.
FPRDI
has completed and on-going research studies on alternative raw materials such
as low grade abaca fibers, banana fibers, and palm oils’ empty fruit bunch
fibers for packaging paper, according to Adela Torres, Chief of FPRDI’s Pulp
and Paper Products Development Section.
FPRDI
is also working out a collaboration with UP Los Baños’s Institute of Plant
Breeding in studying hybrid abaca as reinforcement fiber. Currently, FPRDI is
part of the Department of Trade and Industry-Bureau of Product Standards’
Technical Committee on Board, Paper, and Pulp which develops standards for
packaging paper.
FPRDI
was likewise part of the initial stages when the “No to Plastic” campaign in
Los Baños, Laguna was conceptualized. Los Baños was one of the first towns in
the country to regulate the use of plastic bags for packaging. [Apple Jean C. Martin, S&T Media Service, FPRDI]