PETpla.net Insider 06 / 2012

imprint EDITORIAL PUBLISHER Alexander Büchler, Managing Director HEAD OFFICE heidelberg business media GmbH Häusserstr. 36 69115 Heidelberg, Germany phone: +49(0)6221-65108-0 fax: +49(0)6221-65108-28 info@hbmedia.net EDITORIAL Doris Fischer: f ischer@hbmedia.net Michael Maruschke Ruari McCallion Ilona Trotter Wolfgang von Schroeter Anthony Withers MEDIA CONSULTANTS Ute Andrä andrae@hbmedia.net Martina Hischmann hirschmann@hbmedia.net Ursula Wachter wachter@hbmedia.net phone: +49(0)6221-65108-0 fax: +49(0)6221-65108-28 France, Italy, Spain, UK Elisabeth Maria Köpke phone: +49(0)6201-878925 fax: +49(0)6201-878926 koepke@hbmedia.net LAYOUT AND PREPRESS Exprim Kommunikationsdesign Matthias Gaumann | www.exprim.de READER SERVICES Kay Krüger reader@hbmedia.net PRINT Chroma Druck & Verlag GmbH Werkstr. 25 67454 Römerberg Germany WWW www.hbmedia.net | w ww.petpla.net PETplanet insider ISSN 1438-9459 is published 10 times a year. This publication is sent to qualified subscribers (1-year subscription 149 EUR, 2-year subscription 289 EUR, Young professionals’ sub- scription 99 EUR. Magazines will be dispatched to you by airmail). Not to be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher. Note: The fact that product names may not be identified as trade marks is not an indication that such names are not registered trademarks. 3 PET planet insider Vol. 13 No. 06/12 www.petpla.net EDITORIAL dear readers, EDITORIAL Let PET be light PET bottles to light up 1,000,000 homes by the end of 2012 According to statistics from the National Electrification Commission of the Philippines in 2009, 3 million households still remain without power outside Metro Manila. And even in the city itself, families still continue to live in darkness. In addition, the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) has reported that a large number of fire-related incidents involve faulty electrical connections. Unauthorised settlements are high-risk areas, since the BFP does not con- duct fire hazard inspections in these communities. The “MyShelter” Founda- tion wants to tackle this problem and aims to brighten up one million homes in the Philippines by 2012. The secret? Discarded PET bottles. “Isang Litrong Liwanag” - A Litre of Light “Isang Litrong Liwanag” (A Litre of Light) is the latest venture of the “MyShelter Foundation”, a lighting project which aims to bring the eco-friendly Solar Bottle Bulb to deprived communities nationwide. This is a programme developed by students from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and inspired by many innovations from around the world. Many cultures have used glass bottles to allow lighting through the roof, and Alfredo Moser from Brazil began pioneering methods of experimenting with plastic bottles. The Philippines authorities took up the cause in a big way, using all the resources of the internet and social networks to spread the word and disseminate infor- mation. The step-by-step guide to making the PET bulb, for instance, can be found on Youtube, and then further discussed on Facebook. “Isang Litrong Liwanag” has now gone viral, spreading across the Philippines and around the world, lighting up thousands of homes with a simple formula; used PET bottles, water, bleach and pure Filipino ingenuity. The comprehensive 8-step guide on Youtube The process to make a PET solar bottle bulb is relatively easy and clearly explained in a 8-step guide on Youtube. Basically a PET bottle is filled with about 10ml chlorine and the rest with water. The filled and closed bottle is encased in a square galvanized iron sheet which in turn is then installed into the roof, bottle bottom downwards and the cap side towards the sky. In this process, the water refracts the light while the chlorine slows down evaporation. The solution is expected to last up to two years before it needs changing. The PE cap is additionally covered with a protective tube to avoid cracking caused by UV. It is said that each PET solar bulb emits the same amount of light as a 55-watt bulb and saves the planet about 64kg of carbon emissions a year. The foundation has just opened a new office in San Juan Manila where they will run training courses and issue community certifications. And they now take part in a variety of activities, for instance they participated in the United Nations Forum on Climate Change 2011 where they presented their grassroots solar lighting campaign to the world, under the eyes of Secretary- General of the United Nations Ban Ki-Moon. www.isanglitrongliwanag.org Yours Michael Maruschke