THE Ecosystem Research and Development Bureau (ERDB) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is pushing for adoption of its charcoal-briquetting technology among local government units (LGUs) to help address the country’s garbage woes.
According to the ERDB, charcoal briquetting will help LGUs comply with Republic Act 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000, and at the same time, earn for them equivalent “carbon credits” which can generate income for LGUs under a finance scheme of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
Charcoal briquetting produces charcoal using biodegradable wastes without having to cut trees.
The DENR, through the ERDB, offers technology transfer to LGUs willing and able to adopt a solid waste-management system anchored on recycling waste through charcoal briquetting.
ERDB Executive Director Dr. Henry A. Adornado said production of charcoal briquette has been adopted by a group of persons with disability (PWDs) in Barangay Lower Bicutan C-6, Taguig City.
“We are open to sharing the technology to any sector interested in learning from us. We provide trainings and free demo as part of our collaborative program in technology transfer and extension,” Adornado said.
According to Adornado, LGUs can raise funding specifically from the program which fits under a potentially new UNFCCC financing incentive for reducing deforestation, also called Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation Plus, expected to be approved by end-2015.
Majority of Filipino households still prefer the use of fuel wood for cooking over liquefied petroleum gas. This leads to the production of charcoal-fuel wood by cutting down trees in natural forests.
The ERDB initiated training for a program on charcoal briquetting in Barangay Lower Bicutan C-6 that has generated jobs for PWDs.
The PWDs are now renting a small charcoal briquette factory in an estimated 200-square-meter site in Taguig City.
Members of the Samahan ng may Kapansanan sa Taguig (Samakat) are using the ERDB’s charcoal-briquetting technology as an environment-friendly way to supply wood for cooking in Taguig parish communities.
After an intensive skills training, Samakat PWDs acquired the ERDB-developed machinery through the financial assistance of Pondo Pinoy of a Taguig Catholic parish.
The machineries are a carbonizer, mixer, briquettor and dryer. Among the jobs for 12 PWDs include raw material gathering and simple machinery operation.
Woman PWDs also get hired for packaging. A 24-piece briquettte is sold at P20 per pack and generates an income of around P100 per day for each PWD, according to Samakat President Mario Galvez
The ERDB charcoal is more cost efficient than ordinary charcoal and emits a steady heat with low clean flame. The charcoal is easy to ignite.
“Charcoal briquetting has given new lives for people like us. Now, persons with disability can look up because they have a contribution to society,” said Galvez, himself an orthopedic PWD.
A training session on producing environment-friendly charcoal was held three years ago by ERDB researcher Engr. Santiago Baconguis Jr.
Baconguis introduced the techniques on how to come up with charcoal briquettes from various biodegradable waste materials. These waste materials have now become of huge economic value.
Among the waste materials that Samakat uses are from buko juice merchants and water hyacinth (water lily) directly gathered from the Laguna Lake.
Compliance to the country’s garbage law has been a challenge for many municipal, city and provincial governments more than 20 years after the signing of the law.
2 comments
Hi i would like to learn briquette production.how can i contact or where i could inquire about briqutte machine?please help.thanks
Hi po ako din po ay orthopedic pwd at nature advocate din po gusto ko pong matuto kung paano gumawa ng briquette at nanng akoy makatulong sa.pag preserba sa kalikasan …gusto ko pong dalhin ang teknolohiyang ito sa probinsya ttosave our forest dahil ang mga tao doon ginawang ahnap buhay ang pag uuling…at willing ko rin share sa kanila paano gawin ito.