DTI destroys over 1,000 substandard monobloc chairs

The Department of Trade and Industry Fair Trade Enforcement Bureau (DTI-FTEB) on Tuesday destroyed over 1,000 confiscated monobloc chairs that have failed the safety standards.

According to Bernadette Reyes’ report on "24 Oras," among the confiscated chairs were those with broken legs and cracks.

"Kinukumpisa natin yung mga defective chairs and stools, may mga putol na yung paa at may mga lamat na yung plastic na kailangan maalis na sa gamit kasi delikado sa mga uupo," said DTI Secretary Alfredo Pascual.

Consumers were advised to check the chair's ICC sticker or the product standards mark to ensure that it passed the safety standards.

Aside from this, the chair must also have the right label, such as the manufacturer's name.

"Kapag hindi po certified, presumably hindi sila safe sa buhay, sa kalusugan, kaligtasan ng mga consumer natin. And then yung iba walang mga labels di po naka-indicate kung saan sila ginawa," said DTI-FTEB Director Fhilip Sawali.

Meanwhile, broken plastic chairs can be transformed into other useful objects for schools and communities.

In Manila, a city-operated materials recovery facilities recycles and upcycles plastic to transform these into other useful items such as pots or keychains. Plastics can also be used for construction materials.

"We’ll crush them and will recycle them into panels which are square, and with that, we can manufacture furniture or benches or tables cabinets," said Francois Lasage, Plastic Flamingo Founder. — Sherylin Untalan/BAP, GMA Integrated News