By Brian Jules Campued
The Department of Science and Technology (DOST), in collaboration with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), unveiled the “Floating Solid Waste Collector System” at the Pasig River Esplanade on Thursday.
The ingenious technology, dubbed as the first Philippine-made floating trash collector, was designed to efficiently gather and remove water hyacinths and other foreign objects from rivers in Metro Manila.
It features a conveyor-belt mechanism that harvests water hyacinths, as well as a dedicated trash collector and a powered barge that transfers the collected waste to dry areas.
According to the DOST – Metals Industry Research and Development Center (MIRDC), these components “are seen to help prevent flooding in bodies of water usually caused by clogged waterways”.
Aside from clearing water hyacinths, each unit of the device has the capacity to collect around 5 cubic meters of floating trash.
“Yung conveyor belt, ‘yan na ‘yong hihila… kapag dumating ‘yong basura, kuha lang nang kuha. Napakabilis n’yan,” DOST Sec. Renato Solidum Jr. said.
Solidum said the latest innovation will help in cleaning the river systems in Metro Manila, in addition to deploying trash and patrol boats for efficient waste management under the directive of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.
“And of course, to support the overall efforts of our government to clean up the Pasig River system,” he added.
The DOST noted that the actual cost of similar or identical floating trash collector systems if imported is about P15 million. However, since it was locally made, it only costs around P7 to P8 million.
Developed by the DOST-MIRDC, through DENR funding, the technology is an upgraded version of its previous Harvesters I and II. (With report from Su Jin Kim/PTV News) – iro
