5 Cebuano students invent ‘trashkad’ to collect garbage, promote clean env’t

 By Fayette C. Riñen

CEBU CITY, August 19 (PIA) -- Five college students in Cebu worked together to come up with a mobile trash bike invention called ‘trashkad’ as part of an advocacy to promote a cleaner surrounding and contribute to lessening the damaging effects of climate change due to methane gas from wastes.

 Junver Libor, Joseph Joel Guardiario, James Fomis, Klintt Bernas and Joshua Arenas are five mechanical engineering students from the University of San Carlos whose innovative ‘trashkad’ is on display at the Ayala Center Cebu for public viewing as part of the inventions vying for the Student Creative Research Award (Sibol) for College Category for the 2011 Central Visayas Regional Invention Contests and Exnibits.

The ‘trashkad’ is a dumping garbage collector that is equipped with three separate containers for the biodegradable, non-biodegradable and recyclable wastes.

In its description of the mobile device, the ‘trashkad’ style is simple and elegant and applicable in villages, subdivisions and schools. It is also environment-friendly, smoke free and an energy saver. 

The mobile trash carrier can hold up as much as 200 kilograms of garbage while the design is equipped with complete accessories used in garbage collection.

Meanwhile in Cebu City, garbage segregation has been strictly implemented starting April since the closure of the Inayawan dumpsite.

Every household in the city down to the barangay level must segregate non-biodegradable garbage from biodegradable ones while all 80 barangays were tasked by the city government to conduct information and education drive about the “no garbage segregation, no collection” policy as a way of instilling discipline among residents to comply. (PIA 7-Cebu)