Scientist says feathers are future of Asia construction 1

The researcher said his work would also solve the significant problem of disposing of the 2.4 million tonnes of feathers produced each year by the Philippines poultry industry, while doing less damage to the environment.
"Conventional waste disposal methods, when applied to chicken feathers, are problematic," he said, referring to burning, burial or recycling the feathers for use in low-quality animal feeds.
"Incineration releases greenhouse gases and the feathers take up a lot of space in landfills and take a long time to decay because of the keratin protein that make up the feathers," Acda noted.
"There is also the fear of bird flu, which makes converting chicken feathers into animal feeds undesirable."
Acda is hoping to perfect his feather board by year's end, at which point he will publish his findings.
"If the study results are good, then we will apply for a patent and publish the study," he said.
"The next step would be to form a partnership with a company that can maximise this technology -- perhaps (local food giant) San Miguel Corp. which has Purefoods as a subsidiary company and, through Purefoods, operates large poultry farms nationwide," he said.
The president of Ford Motor Company Philippines, Rick Baker, said the company was "proud to be involved in such an exciting and ecologically relevant project."
"Our support for this endeavour underscores our commitment to finding sustainable solutions in protecting and maintaining our environment," he said.