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Plastic wastes clogging the sewers was one of the factors blamed for the floods that devastated Metro Manila in the recent spate of typhoons.

Being non-biodegradable, plastics tend to linger in the environment for a very long time, causing a lot of harm in the process. Now a company using technology developed decades ago might provide the solution to the plastic waste problem.

Thirty years ago, inventor Jayme Navarro developed a process of creating fuels like gasoline, diesel, and gas from plastic. However, due to the low price of fuel in the 1970’s, the fuel produced was not cost-competitive.

But in 2007, fuel prices skyrocketed, prompting Ana Po, owner of Fame plastics factory and  Navarro’s sister, to revisit her brother’s invention.

In 2008, the company Polygreen was established to utilize Navarro’s technology; it’s a process called pyrolysis, or the burning of substances without using oxygen. The technology works by taking any type of shredded plastic and subjecting it to pyrolysis in a conversion chamber that breaks down the molecular bonds of the plastics, reverting them to their primary ingredient, hydrocarbons or fuel.

The chamber can accommodate any type of plastic—polystyrene, PVC, PET, even Styrofoam.

To commercialize the technology, a pilot plant in Montalban, Rizal is being built and expected is to go online early this year. Created in cooperation with the government of Rizal, the plant can process five tons of waste per day. The technology has an 80 percent conversion rate for plastics; in other words, it can produce 4,000 liters of fuel.

Of that output, 70 percent is diesel, 25 percent is natural gas, and five percent is gasoline. According to Erwin Po, Ana’s son, the production cost of fuel from plastics is economically competitive with commercial fuel and is actually slightly cheaper. The fuel, he says, passes environmental standards and the diesel produced from plastic actually burns cleaner than conventional diesel.

Aside from Polygreen, Erwin Po has his own direct selling company called Veepo Global Resources, which distributes emergency survival equipment called the “life straw” and the “Long-Lasting Insecticidal Net.”

Erwin says he founded the company after realizing that millions die each year due to preventable diseases and unsanitary conditions.

Erwin, who got wind of the products by watching the National Geographic Channel, started Veepo in 2009 with about P9 million in capital. Vestergaard Frandsen, a European company specializing in complex emergency response and disease control products, makes both the Lifestraw and LLIN.

The Lifestraw is a portable water filter that can filter out bacteria, viruses, and other water impurities. The straw is a foot long and can filter up to 700 liters, or two liters a day over a period of two years. The straw is designed to provide safe water when it is unavailable due to disasters.

The LLIN, on the other hand, is an insecticide-treated mosquito net. Unlike other insecticidal products, the nets don’t give off noxious fumes, only targets insects and is safe for both humans and animals.
The nets come in different sizes and can repel flies, mosquitoes, and even cockroaches. It is dirt repellent and can last for 20 washes or two to four years.

Given that their family business is a plastic factory, Erwin sees Veepo and Polygreen as the Pos’ way of paying back the environment and the people. By providing affordable fuel while also reducing plastic wastes, Polygreen may finally make a dent on the country’s burgeoning solid waste problem, while Veepo’ Lifestraw and LLIN can potentially help a lot of people from getting sick from easily preventable diseases.