Australian toy maker uses rainwater in Clark factory

CLARK FIELD, Pampanga — Amid the warnings by scientists about the depletion of underground water, an Australian investor has taken the lead in water conservation by devising ways to use rainwater for the needs of his toy factory at the Clark special economic zone.

Hans Axthelm, managing director and chief executive officer of Hansa Toys, has called on other companies to adopt inexpensive water conservation measures by using rainwater instead of underground water.

Sonny Lopez, chief of the information management division of the Clark Development Corp. (CDC), said that since 1998, Hansa Toys has been deriving its potable water from a water tank built atop the roof of its factory here.

The facility covers 6,000 square meters and stores about one million liters of rainwater.

"Water stored in the tank can last eight months," Axthelm said, adding that the stored water is used by his 270 employees for drinking and cleaning, and for bathroom needs.

Axthelm said the rainwater stored in the tank is secured from sunlight so as to prevent bacteria and amoeba from thriving in it.

"Without vitamin D from sunlight, microorganisms will not survive in the stored rainwater," he said.

He estimated that using rainwater would save his company some P3 million in 10 years.

"The savings can be used for other productive purposes," he said.

According to Axthelm, rainwater contains beneficial minerals and is known to be good for washing hair.

His appeal for water conservation came following a two-day integrated water resources summit held here recently.

During the summit, geologists Kelvin Rodolfo and Fernando Singian said lands in western Central Luzon are subsiding by nearly nine centimeters annually due to the excessive extraction of underground water, among other factors.

Aggravating the situation is global warming, which is causing the ocean surface to rise by two millimeters yearly, they said.

Axthelm urged even households to adopt the same water conservation measure that his company is doing, saying that the Philippines has a considerable amount of rainfall every year.

Hansa Toys, which exports its products to 21 countries in North America, Europe and Asia, moved to Clark in 1994.