Los Baños inventors' innovative solutions vs. pollution

The town of Los Baños in Laguna has been known as a barkada get-away as in just a few hours from Manila, one can spend a short vacation in its many hot springs and private pools, GMA News' Lala Roque reported on "State of the Nation with Jessica Soho."

The place is also popular for its local delicacy, the buko pie.

Moreover, the University of the Philippines-Los Baños has been a pioneer in the field of agriculture, environmental science, and engineering.

In this campus, a couple of inventors have made their mark through projects aimed at environmental conservation and protection.

The inventors used crushed mussels to lessen air pollution while another used water hyacinth and bamboo to reduce water pollution.

A group of engineering students invented a filter that cleans tricycle exhaust made from crushed tahong or mussels.

"Napansin namin na sobrang mausok ang community. Feeling namin in the first place naapektuhan din kami somehow," said Abigael Rubiano, one of the inventors.

"Yung tahong yung isa sa mga seashells na may Calcium carbonate content na siya yung may kakayahan na mai-absorb yung mga pollutants dun sa surface niya," she added.

There is also a high number of asthma cases. Based on the data from the local government unit, there were 179 cases recorded in 2015 and 42 cases, so far, for 2016.

There are more than 200 tricycles plying the routes in Los Baños.

The installation procedure is simple. A metal cylinder containing crushed tahong shells wrapped in gauze is attached to the exhaust.

The challenge for the inventors is to convince tricycle drivers to use the tahong shell exhaust filter.

"Nag-start po kami ng seminars, kung paano makaka-affect sa atin at sa environment yung air pollution. Then, kinatagalan, na-accept din po ng community yung project namin," said Ranzel Bartel, a co-inventor.

The project is currently being funded by a private company.

To date, there are more than 50 motorcycles using the exhaust filter.

On the other hand, the project spearheaded by Professor Emeritus of the UPLB Institute of Biological Sciences Dr. Macrina Zafaralla is focused on addressing the problem of water pollution.

Her project brought the once "dead river" back to life with the use of water hyacinth and the process called Phytoremediation.

In this project, water hyancinth and bamboo sticks were used to filter sediment as well as nursery for fish.

"That is a process, in which, a technique also of cleaning up the water environment with the use of plants," said Dr. Zafaralla.

"Para sa akin, ang pinakamabuti na strategy na gawin natin ay itong mga maliliit na ilog at ilat ang ating atakihin because nakikita natin dito sa mga ilat na ito nakatira ang informal settlers at sila yung mga tunay na nagdedepende sa mga ilog na iyan," she added.

The residents, like Lambert Macam, maintain the project that has also become a source of food.

"Mga nahuli po namin dito mga tilapia, hito, dalag, palos," he said. — Bernadette A. Parco/TJD, GMA News