BY VANNE ELAINE TERRAZOLA
Senator Cynthia Villar has underscored the importance of recycling and proper waste management in preventing floods, saying these, too, help in providing livelihood and source of income to Filipinos.
In a statement, Villar said the frequent flooding in her home city Las Piñas led her to initiate a “coconet” weaving enterprise using coconut wastes as raw material.
She said they found that coconut husks, thrown away by itinerant vendors, were the cause of the flooding.
“Las Piñas River has become a big dumping area of waste coconut husks, which caused the clogging of the riverways. So we thought of controlling the wastes with the people’s cooperation,” the chairperson of the Senate committee on environment and natural resources said.
“We designated areas where coconut vendors can bring or deposit waste coconut husks. Then we turned those as raw materials for ‘coconet’ weaving enterprise that we put up,” she recalled.
She continued: “There are two-fold benefits in turning waste coconut husks into something useful, we got rid of garbage that used to litter our streets and clog our rivers and waterways. Secondly, we helped residents by providing them with livelihood and additional source of income. It’s a win-win for people and the environment.”
She said that the Villar Social Institute for Poverty Alleviation and Governance (SIPAG) weaving enterprise convert waste coconut husks into “coconets,” which are used as riprap materials in construction projects to prevent soil erosion.
Their family’s real estate firm, Vista Land, buys the “coconets” for its housing subdivisions at P2,000 per roll, she said.
She said they also use the decorticating machine invented by agricultural engineer Dr. Justino Arboledain in their coconet-weaving project.
“Dr. Arboleda’s invention has won awards. It is a good example of how a simple invention is now the source of livelihood of many families and has helped many cities get rid of wastes cause floods and pollute rivers and waterways,” said Villar.
Besides the production of coconets, coco dust were also mixed with household wastes to make organic fertilizer, which are then distributed to farmers and urban gardeners all over the country.
Villar said there should be greater private sector and public participation in the development of waste management programs. (Vanne Elaine Terrazola)
