Lamp disposal facility venture pushed

CEBU, Philippines - The Department of Energy (DOE) is encouraging entrepreneurs to consider venturing into incandescent lamp waste facility while the agency is now establishing a pilot project to see if it proves viable for businesses.

DOE undersecretary Loreta G. Ayson said that if the business model of this facility will work out, the private sector can take this business opportunity as the Philippines is moving towards being an energy-efficient country.

DOE will be running the lamp disposal facility for six months, in partnership with Philippine Lighting Association (PLA), and after that, it will be promoted to the private sector for possible venture.

The facility is where all the incandescent lamps will be delivered and where the mercury from the bulb will be separated from the glass for it to be disposed of properly without harming the environment.

She said this type of facility can only be found in Europe to date, thus, the Philippines will also be pioneering this technology.

Ayson said in an interview earlier that although the DOE is intensifying its drive to encourage consumers buying energy-efficient electrical products, such as the use of compact fluorescent light (CFL), total eradication of incandescent bulb usage in the country is seen to take longer time though.

Ayson said because of the (still) high cost of compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) bulbs versus the incandescent bulb, Filipinos still prefer to use inexpensive bulb products, although long-term savings is assured by using CFL and light-emitting diode (LED) products.

With the establishment of the facility, that will also provide incentives for disposal of incandescent lamps, Ayson hopes that more and more Filipinos from small residential users to big corporations will be encouraged to use high energy-efficient lighting products.

Earlier, lighting products manufacturer Philips Philippines announced its support to the government’s bid to promote energy-efficiency via introducing the usage of CFL instead of incandescent bulbs although Philips Lighting chief executive officer and general manager Rico Gonzales said that the company has not determined the timeline as to when it will stop manufacturing incandescent bulbs.

The Dutch lighting brand Philips is continuously roaming around the country in partnership with the local government unit (LGUs) to promote the usage of CFL, starting with the heavy users, like the public market vendors. — Ehda M. Dagooc /JMD

According to Gonzales, phasing out of incandescent bulb's availability in the market today is still hard to do, as the demand is still there since this is sold  as low as P20 per bulb, while the CFL is sold at P99. — Ehda M. Dagooc /JMD

“It is hard to pull out the availability of incandescent bulb immediately; the demand is still there, and we might lose the opportunity. But we are on our continuous effort to discourage the market in using incandescent,” Gonzales said.

Philips, through its educational campaign, emphasized the long-term benefits of utilizing CFL, as it can last up to at least 6,000 to 8,000 hours, while the incandescent, although low in price, can only last for 1,000 hours.

Philips has pioneered a nationwide campaign in promoting the use of CFL not only to save people from paying high electricity bills, but also to promote energy-efficiency which is now becoming a “universal” trend.

After the CFL, the market will be educated to the use of LED, which is the future of lighting system, Gonzales said.

At present through, the market still has to be gradually introduced to newer energy-saving technology such as CFL, as the cost of CFL products in the future is expected to drop as the demand increases.

Philips has already introduced several energy-saving lighting products or those that are tagged with “yellow label” and duly registered by the DOE.— /JMD (FREEMAN)