The genius in plastic recycling

Posted on January 7, 2019April 9, 2021 by envirotech_c2qu1t

HIS story of recycling trashed plastics and making these into colorful school chairs went the rounds in social media as it grabbed the attention of several television news programs in the past three months although Winchester O. Lemen, the man behind the plastic chairs and founder of Envirotech Waste Recycling Inc. (Envirotech), has been at it since 2010.

Just before New Year, Lemen with his family paid a courtesy call on President Rodrigo R. Duterte in Bahay Pangarap, the official residence of the President in Malacañang, where the President got to see a prototype of Envirotech’s school desk and affix his signature on this.

The bigger story, however, is not about the colorful plastic school chairs.

Rather, it is in Envirotech’s trade secret and breakthrough technology.

Melting point

Lemen developed a technology that could melt all kinds of trash plastics all in one furnace.

“Kahit sinong itanong mo na scholar diyan, sasabihin sa iyong: Cannot be,” he said.

There are seven major kinds of plastics: The Polyethylene Terephthalate (Pete or Pet), most commonly used to make containers for packaging foods and beverages, personal care products, and many other consumer products; High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) commonly used for corrosion resistant pipes, geomembranes, and plastic lumber; Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) used for a wider range of applications like drainpipes and fittings, flexible films and tubes, cables, and others; Low-Density Polyethylene, whose most common use is for plastic bags and dispenser bottles; Polypropylene (PP), widely used in the industrial sector because it is stiffer and resistant to chemicals and organic solvents; Polystyrene or Styrofoam (PS); and miscellaneous plastics that include: polycarbonate, polylactide, acrylic, acrylonitrile butadiene, styrene, fiberglass, and nylon.

Most recyclers can only do Pet, PP, and PVC. But only separately. Like the most recycled plastics in Mexico, which is high in plastic recycling, is PET.

All seven plastics have different applications, strengths, properties, and melting points ranging from 105 Centigrade to 250 Centigrade. This is where the tricky part comes. Because of their different melting points, the different kinds of plastics are best melted separately and at different lengths of time lest some will already be turned into ash while others will become toxic before the rest could melt.

Lemen figured how to just mix them all up, a breakthrough seen to be impossible by recyclers, including international ones.

From cannot be, it became can be.

Recycling polybags

Lemen worked on this technology after finding himself eased out of the recyclable plastics market where he started out.

Married to Mabelle Soriano Lemen of the erstwhile AMS Corporation, which was into banana farming, Lemen worked on recycling used polybags from the AMS banana plantations to make guy lines and tieback, which are again used by the plantations. Before Lemen came into the picture, these plastics were just buried in landfills.

“Noong nire-recycle ko na, nakita na ng iba. Sabay-sabay silang pumasok ngayon. Nakita nila, big ang market ng banana. Imagine, one hectare (of banana plantation) is 1,000 hills and 1,000 plastic bags is eight kilos of plastics, 50,000 hectares ang buong sagingan sa Mindanao. Ang dami noon,” he said.

He ended up being eased out because the bigger recyclers, including Taiwanese, can afford to buy them at a higher price. The competition grew such that from a very low P3.50 per kilo, the price of used polybags is now at P14 per kilo.

The mother of innovation

This did not discourage him. He instead focused on what plastics are not being recycled. He found out that plastic wrappers are what made up a bulk of residual wastes that all end up at the city landfill. Nobody in the recycling business wants them.

“Naisip ko, sige, try natin na dito tayo sa hindi na nila napapakinabangan (Let’s work on these waste that no one needs), he said.

His experiment took six years.

Having been able to melt the assorted plastics together and produce a material that has the strength, the result became the foundation of Envirotech now: assorted plastics including candy and detergent wrappers made into durable products, such that the tiebox that he now produces is greater in strength than what his competitors in the used polybag market could make.

Envirotech was thus born in June 2010 and has since been improving on its technology and products while providing communities and local government units the answer to what to do with the most pesky of wastes — including plastics that pollute the sea.

There’s a lot of work ahead, however, in gathering all these and keeping these out of the environment to be made into useful materials, whether it be for furniture or for construction.

Being the pioneer, Lemen has his work cut out for him as communities continue to struggle with the problem of garbage.

Source: The genius in plastic recycling – SUNSTAR
by STELLA ESTREMERA / SUNSTAR

From plastic wastes to useful chairs

Posted on December 17, 2018April 21, 2021 by envirotech_c2qu1t

Engineer Winchester Lemen with his high-quality chairs made up of plastic wastes. The plant located in Sasa, Davao City can process 90 tons of plastic wastes day.

DAVAO CITY, Dec.17 (PIA) — Addressing shortage of school chairs and disposing plastic wastes are answered in one solution. It is by converting these plastics into chairs and other useful furniture.

Engineer Winchester Lemen and his company, Winder Recycling Company with its plant in Sasa processes around 90 tons of plastic trash and transforms them using Lemen’s invention- a thermal heating technology into school chairs, benches, picnic tables and lounge chairs.

Lemen said the business started in 2001 where he saw the need to recycle plastics and invented a technology to help in recycling.

“This invention is a product of Philippine ingenuity, I conceptualized it to start reducing the number of plastic wastes in our country. This was my idea to help the country,” Lemen said.

A single school chair is made up of 30 kilos of plastic or the equivalent of 10,000 candy wrappers or equal to 2,181 sando bags or 300 bottles of mineral water, these are common plastic wastes being dumped in landfills or in canals and waterways.

The JCI Davaoña Dabadaba chapter is teaming up with Winder to set-up plastic collection points across Davao City.

One of Winder’s popular chairs is the lounge chair which can be used indoors and outdoors.

“We are also saving a three-year old tree from being cut which could have been used to create a chair,” Lemen said.

A native of Marikina, Lemen moved to Davao when he married a Dabawenya. He set up the Envirotech Waste Reycling Inc. Together with a partner, he put up the Winder Recycling Inc. with a 4,000 square meter factory in Sasa near the Port of Davao.

The wastes come from Davao City and nearby towns like in Tagum, Padada and Sulop. Winder together with Junior Chamber International (JCI) Davaoeña Dabadaba chapter is conducting a plastic wastes drive where they aim to gather collected plastic wastes such as sando bags, plastic containers, bottles, sachets, wrappers and food packaging.

Impact to plastic waste problem

The technology will be of great help to Davao City which is handling huge amounts of trash, an average of 540 to 600 tons a day. Most of these are plastic wastes and these end up in waterways and into the sea. Plastics has been tagged as responsible for the deaths of whales in Davao Gulf.

According to Darrel Blatchley of the Bone Collector Museum who conducts necropsy on dead whales, of the 58 whale bodies recovered in Davao Gulf in a span of nine months about 54 died due to being trapped in fishing nets or they swallowed plastics.

In the city-wide coastal cleanup held May of this year, volunteers collected 3,000 sacks of garbage, many of these are plastics.

The City Government under Mayor Sara Duterte is eyeing to ban the use of single-use plastics in the city. Solid Waste Management is part of the priorities under Mayor Duterte.

From hoops to recycling

Engr. Lemen finished mechanical engineering at the Mapua Institute of Technology in the 1990s. Aside from academics he was part of the school basketball varsity junior and senior teams. He counts Mapua collegiate star player and PBA superstar Alvin Patrimonio as a friend.

“He was with the seniors basketball team, when I was still in the junior team,” Lemen recalls.

He was part of the 1991 Mapua senior basketball team which copped the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championship. Among his contemporaries include Emmanuel “Boybits” Victoria, Johnny Abarrientos, Benny Cheng among many other professional basketball luminaries.

In 1998 after a stint with the Philippine Navy basketball team he decided to use his mechanical engineering degree to jumpstart into waste recycling.

He still didn’t abandon basketball though as he is being eyed to coach the Davao City Mapua school- the Malayan Colleges of Mindanao collegiate basketball team.

In college he looked up to his father Marcelo who was one of the pioneers of plastic Styrofoam in the country. Marcelo Lemen with his company Europlastico made Styrofoam products in the 1970s.

After basketball, he created Envirotech Recycling Company and in 2017 along with a partner they established Winder Recycling Company here in Davao.

Lemen says he needs to sell the school chairs to create sustainability as the company employs about 30 workers. Aside from minimizing the plastic trash problem it also provides livelihood for workers.

“You are not just buying the product, but also you are contributing to the health of the environment,” Lemen tells his sales pitch to potential buyers.

Quality Plastic Furniture

Winder makes school chairs and other furniture. They are so durable that Lemen confidently adds a 20-year warranty to the product they sold. Once a furniture is broken before the warranty ends, they would replace it for free.

Winder benches can be great in parks and other outdoor places as they can withstand elements such as weather.

Winder plastic benches are durable to weather and other elements, they are great for parks and other outdoor areas.

Prices are also competitive compared to other plastic manufacturers. A Winder school chair costs P1,700 as compared to P2,500 from other makers. Wooden chairs cost around P200 lesser than Winder but it is offset by the fact that the production of wooden chairs need trees to be cut.

Aside from chairs, they also make pallets and other things such as skateboards. One skateboard recycled from plastic wastes was given to 2018 Asian Games skateboarding gold medalist Margielyn Didal.

Engr. Lemen (left) hands over a Winder skateboard made from recycled plastic wastes to 2018 Asian Games skateboaring gold medalist Margielyn Didal (right)

One of the company’s biggest plans is to make a pre-fab modular home made up of plastic wastes.

Lemen says despite the move to ban single-use plastics, the plastic wastes in the country is increasing as many Filipinos are still using wrappers and sachets.

“Lahat ng plastics magagamit natin,” (We use all types of plastics) Lemen describes their technology which can significantly reduce the amount of plastics being dumped in the environment.

To Donate

Winder does not buy plastic wastes but relies on donations, for those wanting to give their plastic wastes, Winder and JCI Davaoeña Dabadaba has set-up collection points for plastic wastes.

Drop off points are at Winder Recycling Company in Sasa (in front of Samal Ferry terminal) or at Davao Grande Medical Foundation, Ground Floor, Barangay Hall Wilfredo Aquino, Bolcan St., Agdao, Davao City (in front of Puentespina Orchid Garden).

SOURCE: (PIA/RG Alama)

From plastic wastes to useful chairs | Philippine Information Agency (pia.gov.ph)

Recycling firm to launch prefabricated houses made from plastic waste

Posted on November 18, 2018April 21, 2021 by envirotech_c2qu1t

DAVAO CITY — Winder Recycling Co. is preparing to roll out prefabricated houses made from plastic waste by next year, according to Managing Partner Winchester O. Lemen.
Mr. Lemen, who also heads the Zambales-based Envirotech Waste Recycling Inc. (EWRI), which produces furniture from plastic trash, said they have designed a 28-square meter house that is estimated to cost not more than P350,000.

The house, he said, is “suitable for rural areas because aside from it can be built fast, it will use solar panels and can even collect rainwater.”
Mr. Lemen said they are planning to partner with the Home Development Mutual Fund, better known as Pag-IBIG Fund, to allow members to apply for a loan for their product.
“We will make sure that Pag-IBIG Fund will know about this project,” he said. Each housing unit will require about three tons of plastic waste. Winder Recycling’s Davao plant can mold about 60 tons of plastic per month. Aside from furniture and house production, the company is also pursuing partnerships with local government units (LGUs) and national agencies on plastic waste management, including transfer of their technology.

“We can help them manage their (LGUs’) plastic wastes,” he said. Under the scheme, an LGUs must look for a corporate sponsor for the facility that would cost about P12 million to set up and requires at least 800 square meters, while Winder Recycling will provide training to those who will operate the plant.

He cited one partnership in Claver, Surigao del Norte, wherein a mining company funded the facility that could employ at least 40. “We are encouraging other companies to do their share (by partnering with LGUs in setting up the processing plants),” he said. The EWRI processing plant in Candelaria, Zambales, mainly produces chairs for schools and offices.

The school chairs, which cost an average of P1,700 each, are usually purchased by companies through their corporate social responsibility fund and donated to public schools. Mr. Lemen said they are also working on potential expansion opportunities in other countries, including India, Nepal, and France. In France, he cited, a company wants exclusivity for the processing plant that it wants to install “as soon as possible because they know what is happening” in terms of the global problem on plastic waste.

SOURCE: Carmelito Q. Francisco

Recycling firm to launch prefabricated houses made from plastic waste – BusinessWorld (bworldonline.com)

DCWD employees innovate seedlings shelter

Posted on August 26, 2016April 21, 2021 by envirotech_c2qu1t

Used plastic bottles are turned into shelters for seedlings through Davao City Water District’s Recycling Month contest. The Commercial Services Department emerged as the first placer with their full dome entry that was later installed at DCWD’s nursery in Malagos watershed.

Employees of Davao City Water District stepped up efforts to support the water utility’s annual celebration of July as Recycling Month. Through the in-house contest “Ang Basura Ko, May Pakinabang Ito”, six domes that would serve as shelter for seedlings in DCWD nurseries have been made out of recycled plastic bottles.

Launched in July, the contest culminated on August 26, 2016 with a simple program for the judging and awarding of entries. Invited judges were Miriam S. Colon, executive director of People Collaborating for Environmental and Economic Management in Davao Foundation, Inc.; Arch. Gloryrose D. Metilla, chief innovations and design officer of the social enterprise Swito Designs Inc.; and Engr. Winchester O. Lemen president and CEO of Envirotech Waste Recycling Inc. who is also tagged as Davao City’s recycled plastics king.

Based on the criteria of environmental compatibility, stability and durability (30%), functionality (30%), concept and originality (25%), and oral interpretation of the entry (15%), the winners were Commercial Services Department in first place, Information and Communications Technology Department in second place and the team composed of the Corporate Planning and Internal Audit departments and Pollution Control and Safety Office in third place. The top three teams each received a plaque.

Runners-up were the Accounting Department, Pipelines and Appurtenances Maintenance Department and the team composed of the offices of the Board of Directors, General Manager and Assistant General Managers, and the Legal Department.

Atty. Bernardo D. Delima Jr., officer-in-charge of the Community Relations and External Affairs Department that organized the contest said the annual celebration of Recycling Month is in line with the District’s mandate to protect and conserve the city’s water resources. He added that the celebration is among DCWD’s small contributions to the Sustainable Development Goals espoused by the United Nations to ensure access to water and sanitation for all and ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns particularly the aim to substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling and reuse.

DCWD director Serafin C. Ledesma Jr. was also happy to note the utility’s efforts to practice recycling while general manager Engr. Edwin V. Regalado thanked the employees for always responding actively to the activities for the environment initiated by the District.

The next day, selected employees gathered again for the installation of the plastic domes at the nurseries located in DCWD’s project sites within Mt. Talomo-Lipadas, Mt. Tipolog-Tamugan and Malagos watersheds.

SOURCE: DCWD employees innovate seedlings shelter (davao-water.gov.ph)

Jamae G. Dela Cruz

Davao City’s recycled plastics king

Posted on September 15, 2012April 9, 2021 by envirotech_c2qu1t

He still remembers his father telling him that one day, he will become the next biggest plastics manufacturer in the country.

Winchester O. Lemen took his father’s word so seriously that he ended up recycling soft plastic wastes mined from landfills and turning these into classroom chairs, park benches, and soon, perhaps, a house.

Lemen’s father, Marcelo, who owned EuroPlastico, which is based in Malinta District in Davao City, was among the first to manufacture Styrofoam products in the country in the 1970s.

By recycling soft plastics from discarded shampoo sachets, candy and junk food wrappers, Lemen, president and chief executive officer of Envirotech Waste Recycling Inc., says he can easily reduce the volume of waste clogging drainage canals and filling the landfills of major towns and cities in the country.

Envirotech aims to be a part of the movement to regain ecological intelligence and balance. It has a plant in Bunawan District, also in Davao City.

Soft plastics

“What we collect are only soft plastics, not the hard plastics, which still has value for junk shops,” says Lemen, a mechanical engineer by profession. His chairs, park benches and decking pieces can easily be mistaken for real wood, and could last up to 20 years, way above the five-year average life-span of wooden chairs, he says.

Lemen is trying to convince as many local government units in the country to allow him to make use of the existing wastes in their landfill for his raw materials.

A councilor in Quezon City, who ordered 60 pieces of Lemen’s products, plans to sponsor a resolution banning wooden chairs in city classrooms to protect the environment. “It’s his way of helping save the trees,” Lemen says.

“One small chair made entirely of recycled plastics can help save one 3-year-old tree, while helping fill the shortage of chairs in the classroom,” he says.

ANOTHER product made of recycled plastics, a bench, is displayed in the house of Lemen in Davao City. GERMELINA LACORTE

A year after settling in Davao City in 2001, Lemen put up his first company, Redwood Logistics Corp., to produce corner posts for banana plantations out of discarded polybag plastics. But the cost of the materials kept going up so he started looking for other possible sources.

Tagum landfill

In a landfill in Tagum City in Davao del Norte, he found a rich repository of discarded plastics. In 2010, Tagum Mayor Rey Uy allowed him to make use of the garbage.

Over eight months, Lemen hauled 800 tons of mixed plastic wastes, reducing largely the volume of trash.

“I first recycled (the garbage) into school chairs. When I was able to make the perfect chair for schools, the Quezon City councilor gave his order,” he says.

One chair costs only P700, a bit lower than the P900 for an armchair made of wood and steel. Plastic monobloc chairs cost P1,100 apiece.

Other areas in the country followed Tagum. Envirotech now has an agreement with the barangay chair of Calinan District in Davao City; the towns of Panabo, Kapalong and Sto. Tomas in Davao del Norte; Hinatuan in Surigao del Sur; Compostela town in Compostela Valley; Agusan del Sur; Isulan town in Sultan Kudarat; Koronadal City in South Cotabato; and Balut Island in Sarangani.

More inquiries

“From north to south, from Visayas to Luzon, everybody was inquiring about this technology,” Lemen says.

He says a town of La Union in Luzon is working on a resolution to give him a place where he can recycle plastic materials. While in Cebu, an Envirotech partner is putting up a plant to convert biodegradable wastes in Mandaue City into biogas, scheduled to start operation next year.

In Davao City, he says, he can help a lot in decreasing its waste volume. The city government had contended with 600 tons of waste a month before it implemented a plastic ban ordinance that reduced the volume to 400 tons.

“After I start in Calinan, hopefully, the rest of the barangays will follow, I can saturate the lower part of (Davao) city,” Lemen says.

Gov’t support

Right now, Envirotech can produce 2,000 chairs a month, using the manually pressed system. Lemen is appealing for government help so he can come up with an automated system that will greatly reduce the volume of plastics in the landfill.

The company also produces pavement and walling blocks, and floor and roof tiles, With these products, Lemen says, he plans to make an entire house out of recycled soft plastics.

“The maximum temperature during the day is less than 40 degrees Celsius and is way below the 300 to 500 degrees when plastics begin to melt,” he says. “So, it’s safe to build a house made entirely of recycled soft plastics.”

“It won’t be long from now,” he says.

Source: Davao City’s recycled plastics king | Inquirer News

by Germelina Lacorte | INQUIRER