CAN WE REALLY MAKE CHARCOAL FROM WASTE PAPER?

CAN WE REALLY MAKE CHARCOAL FROM WASTE PAPER?

For the longest time, paper has been treated as the “good guy” of waste—biodegradable, compostable, and generally harmless compared to plastic. And because of that, there has never been much motivation to recycle it. Unlike plastic bottles or metal cans, paper is rarely bought by junk shops anymore. When newspapers were still popular, “old news” was bought by the dangkal. Today, nobody wants your old newspapers—not even junk shops.

And yet, despite being biodegradable, paper still takes up space. A lot of space. Anyone who has tried storing used receipts, paper bags, envelopes, tickets, and packaging will understand what I mean. I once experimented by saving every scrap of paper I encountered—and within weeks, I found myself drowning in boxes of waste paper. I succeeded in collecting it. What I did not succeed in was finding a productive way to use it.

Paper-mâché? Yes, but the demand isn’t enough. Composting? Possible, but not always practical.

Then comes paper charcoal.

A simple idea, but a revolutionary one. One that, frankly, should have been invented a long time ago.

Paper charcoal—or paper briquettes—is made by shredding paper, soaking it to form pulp, pressing it into balls or blocks, and drying it until it becomes a solid, burnable fuel. And yes, it works. In fact, it’s already being done in some parts of the Philippines.

One encouraging example is at the University of St. La Salle in Bacolod, where Mr. Raymund Malapitan, together with NSTP facilitators and students, converts shredded campus paper waste into compact paper coal balls. Instead of ending up in trash bins and later in landfills, the paper becomes an alternative fuel—a clean, useful product. This is a circular design in action.

And it doesn’t stop there. Similar initiatives exist globally. In Zambia, for example, communities mix paper pulp with corn cob ash to make fuel briquettes, reducing the pressure on forests. In Mandaue City, DepEd schools have cooked rice using paper charcoal as a demonstration. Studies even show that paper charcoal can burn cleaner than wood charcoal, producing fewer harmful emissions.

But of course, it’s not perfect. Paper charcoal burns faster and with less heat than traditional charcoal. It needs to be thoroughly dried or it won’t ignite well. And scaling it up requires organized collection and cooperative production.

Still, the potential is enormous.

Just imagine: If barangays, cooperatives, and schools created small paper charcoal hubs, what would happen?
• We would reduce landfill volume.
• We would lessen the demand for wood-based charcoal, helping our forests.
• We would create new livelihood opportunities for poor communities.
• We would convert an undervalued waste stream into something useful and profitable.

This is not just recycling. This is community-based resource transformation.

The question now is: What will we do with this idea?

My hope is that cooperatives and livelihood groups will adopt it. That LGUs will support it. That schools and offices will send their shredded paper to production hubs. That entrepreneurs will innovate on design and create more efficient briquette molds.

For me, the next step is to monitor how this idea grows—where it takes root, and who benefits from it. If you know of any project, group, or barangay already producing paper charcoal, please let me know. I want to help amplify and connect these efforts.

After all, the best ideas are the ones that do not just solve a problem—they create opportunities.

And paper charcoal is one such idea whose time has finally come.

RAMON IKE V. SENERES

www.facebook.com/ike.seneres iseneres@yahoo.com senseneres.blogspot.com 09088877282/08-08-2026