House ecology head supports quality recycling

Rep. Augusto Baculio, of the second district of Misamis Oriental and chairman of the House committee on ecology, is pushing for quality recycling as a practice and as a business to help keep the environment safe and, at the same time, create profitable enterprises and provide jobs.

Baculio stressed the need for quality recycling "because this is the only way to prove that recycling is worth pursuing as a business and can be globally competitive."

He cited the case of Printing Images CtC Inc., a company located in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone and a member of the International Imaging Technology Council, which produces recycled or remanufactured inkjet cartridges.

The business, he said, has helped keep away tons of toxic metal and plastic from dump sites.

Baculio noted that the management and technology of the business follows ecological standards. "This way, it does not harm anyone or anything in the environment. More so, it maintains the balance necessary for sustaining life, and, at the same time, keep the business going and growing."

Baculio chided certain companies he has encountered which complain about having to comply with environmental standards because this would entail additional expense at the start and that it would be a losing proposition for them, especially in these times.

He pointed out that initial investments for the environment would pay off much more, such as in the case of Printing Images CtC Inc., which has a well-motivated workforce who understands what it means to work together in harmony, in healthy surroundings and under excellent work standards. In turn, they help bring in more profits for the company.

That is what makes for quality work, Baculio said. "That is the attitude we must all have if we will be globally competitive. For example, the recycling or remanufacturing process for empty inkjet cartridges is a labor-intensive process, the product of long and dedicated research and lots of trial and error. But all the efforts have been very rewarding to the company," Baculio said.

"I will be constantly endorsing Printing Images as a model to my constituents. That is why I have also advised them to collect their empty inkjet cartridges so they can have additional income if they sell these to Printing Images," he added.

"We must support this kind of companies. They are helping both the environment and the economy and they are showing the world that we can do it here, because their products are continuously in demand abroad," the congressman said.

Norbert Grimm, president of the company, said competent chemists and chemical engineers test their ink formulations. The cartridges are cleaned thoroughly. Everyday, various types of cartridges are fed with different ink formulations.

Each remanufactured inkjet cartridge is wrapped and sealed in foil and vacuumed before final packaging to prevent harm while it is transported from Subic (tel. no. 047-252-6012) and Makati (895-4994) to various destinations all over the world. The products proudly carry the company trademark, "IQ Durable Remanufactured Inkjet Cartridge."