SMC GAGAMIT NG BIODEGRADABLE PLASTICS PACKAGING

ANG San Miguel Corporation ang magiging kauna-unahang Filipino na kompanya na gagamit ng fully-certified biodegradable plastic packaging.

Ang SMC ay nagpatulong sa Philippine Bioresins Corporation na isang lokal na kompanya na naka-develop ng naturang teknolohiya sa loob ng limang taon. Sa simula ay gagamitin ang biodegradable plastic packaging sa food at non-food products tulad ng sako para sa semento at feeds, grocery bags at iba pang single-use plastic packaging.

“Initially, we will use it for cement packaging. What we will use is a biodegradable plastic woven packaging, or sack. This is proudly developed by Filipino inventors, using local materials, and made by local workers,” wika ni SMC president and chief operating officer Ramon S. Ang.

Ang Philippine Bioresins Corporation ay binigyan kamakailan ng Environmental Technology Verification certificate ng Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Industrial Technology Development Institute.

Ang nasabing sertipikasyon ay nagpapatunay na ang biodegradable polypropylene na gawa ng Philippine Bioresins Corporation ay 64.65 percent degraded sa loob ng 24 buwan kumpara sa non-biodegradable plastics na 4.5 percent degraded sa 24 na buwan.

“We have always been looking for innovative environmental technologies, and we are excited about this development. We are looking forward to using biodegradable plastics, and this is just the beginning, as they are developing other technologies in this field,” ani G. Ang.

Aniya, dahil sa pag-aaral na ang bansa ay pangatlo sa buong mundo bilang plastic polluter sa karagatan ay marapat lamang na pagtuunan ng pansin ang pagbabawas ng environmental impact.

Bukod sa biodegradable cement bags, bumibili ang kompanya ng plastic water bottles at bags para gamitin na panggatong sa cement plants. Gumagamit din ito ng lumang gulong at industrial sewage waste bilang panggatong.

“This is another way that we are helping turn plastic wastes that would have otherwise ended up in landfills or bodies of water, into useful and much-needed products—in this case, cement, which is used to construct buildings and infrastructure,” wika ni G. Ang.

“We are very serious when it comes to sustainability. We have stopped our plastic bottled water business; we have taken on the challenge to reduce group-wide non-product water use by 50% by 2025, and we’ve poured more resources into major projects to clean up bodies of water as well as into research that supports plastic waste reduction,” dagdag pa ni G. Ang.

Noong Marso lamang ay nakipagtulungan ang San Miguel sa leading materials science company na Dow Chemical upang pag-aralan kung paano gagawing alternative raw material ang hard-to-recycle plastics sa road surfacing upang mabawasan ang mga plastic na napupunta sa landfill.

Nakipagtulungan din ang SMC sa Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) upang linisin at buhayin ang Tullahan River bilang bahagi ng paglilinis ng Manila Bay kung saan gugugol ang kompanya ng P1 bilyong piso para dito. Nagpanukala rin ang kompanya ng 1.2 kilometer na tulay mula Boracay patungong Aklan upang masolusyunan ang problema ng tubig, basura at sewage sa naturang isla.