Pinoy-made paper 'Pinyapel' is produced from discarded pineapple leaves and it just won an int'l award

"Pinyapel" is a Pinoy paper product made from discarded pineapple leaves and it just won the D&AD Future Impact Awards for Environment and Sustainability in New York City.

With the help of Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and Design Center of the Philippines (DCP), Lolita "Luchi" Cabanlet of Cagayan De Oro Handmade Paper was able to develop "Pinyapel" a "locally-manufactured specialty paper" produced from discarded pineapple leaves from plantations in Bukidnon.

DCP helped coin the term "Pinyapel" from the Filipino words pinya (pineapple) and papel (paper).

A press statement from DTI Misamis Oriental describes Pinyapel as "the future of packaging." It's water-resistant making it a good material to be developed into paper cups, paper bags and other food container options.

DTI-DCP partnered with CDO Handmade Paper "to launch a sustainable innovation to transform waste into new and useful material, a forward-thinking approach to combat the growing problem on non- biodegradable plastic."

They collaborated with Nature's Fresh, a pineapple exporter from Bukidnon, to use their discarded pineapple leaves to be developed into pineapple paper sheets using a technology developed by the DCP.

The paper sheets was then supplied to Ideatechs Packaging Corporation, a company producing food container products.

The award will be given in New York City, USA on November 6, the event is an "annual activity recognizing those who put their creative ideas into world-changing projects, products and campaigns."

Check out some of the products developed from Pinyapel sheets in the gallery below.

— Jannielyn Ann Bigtas/LA, GMA News