Plantable Pencils: This Cebu Startup Company Makes Pencils that Become Plants
A Cebu startup has created pencils that can grow into plants. Eco Hub Cebu has replaced pencil erasers with seeds, so that when the pencil is no longer useful for writing, it can be planted to become any of a variety of plants: basil, mint, citronella, chilli, sunflower, tomato, carrot, and more.
Made with Sustainable Materials
The pencils are just like ordinary pencils, but instead of having rubber erasers on one end, they are equipped with gelatin capsules that contain the plant seeds. Eco Hub Cebu explains that the capsules are also sustainable because they are preservative-free, are non-GMO, hypoallergenic, and gluten-free.
The pencil shafts are also sustainable because they don't contain lead, and are made of sustainable wood (wood that comes from sustainably managed forests). Their graphite, clay, and non-GMO seeds are also sustainable.
Seeds Grow Fast
According to Eco Hub Cebu, the seeds they chose for the pencils are those that particularly germinate quickly. The pencils' seeds, after being planted, will germinate in five to ten days, depending on their type of plant.
Not the First Plantable Pencil
The novel idea of creating plantable pencils was originated by three students from the Massachussetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Boston in 2012. It was their idea for the brief, "Design the sustainable office article of tomorrow".
The three students followed through with their idea, which became the Sprout Pencil in 2013. Just like Eco Hub Cebu's Plantable Pencils, the Sprout Pencils have dissolvable seed capsules in place of erasers.
Lookback at Another Cool Sustainable Invention by A Filipino
SALt Lamp (Sustainable Alternative Lighting) is an LED lamp created by Filipino Aisa Mijeno. The SALt Lamp creates light through the galvanic reaction of anodes with saline water. The lamp is actually a galvanic cell battery which makes use of salt water as an electrolyte to facilitate the flow of electrons within the battery, with light as an incidental outcome.
Because SALt Lamp is a battery, it can also be used to charge cellphones and other electronics. Once the electrons in the salt water are used up, just replace the salt water in the lamp and it will run for another eigh hours, as long as the metal anode is intact.
