Japanese waste disposal eyedto solve Baguio trash problem

By Dexter A. See

BAGUIO CITY — The city government here is inclined to use a multi-million-peso Japanese technology to solve the city’s solid waste disposal problem which could result in the abandoning of the expensive hauling of waste to the sanitary landfill in Capas, Tarlac.

Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan ordered city departments to coordinate with the manufacturer of the waste disposal facility in Japan so the local government could import at least two of the machines which will be utilized to convert biodegradable waste into compost fertilizer.

The city’s solid waste disposal personnel visited the Japanese technology equipment which is being used in Malabon City and were convinced the same will greatly help in solving garbage disposal problem which had been eating up bulk of its budget over the past two years.

According to Domogan, one unit of the solid waste disposal facility costs about P64 million in the local market and could compost at least 24 tons of biodegradable waste into fertilizer in one day.
Based on initial assessment of the city solid waste management board, the city generates over 42 tons of garbage per day which means that two units will be enough to cover the city’s waste into fertilizer to be sold to the vegetable farmers in nearby Benguet province.

Domogan said the beauty of the Japanese technology is that the fertilizer to be produced could dry up in just two hours, thus, the operators could immediately place the same in sacks ready for markets.

While local officials are still cracking their heads to find the practical solutions to the city’s garbage problem, Domogan appealed to households to segregate waste at source so garbage collectors will not have a hard time collecting and segregating the same.

Initially, Domogan admitted the city has at least P100 million to be used to come out with drastic solutions to the city’s garbage problem the soonest while working out the construction of its engineered sanitary landfill in a city-owned property which could help turn the tide in the city’s current dilemma.

Aside from importing the Japanese equipment similar to a materials recovery facility (MRF), the city government is also inclined to purchase more brand new garbage trucks for garbage collection in the city’s 128 villages.

The local government is now working out the improvement, rehabilitation and extension of the retaining wall of the controversial 5.2-hectare Irisan open dumpsite so that it will be temporarily used as a residual containment area for the city’s residual waste while awaiting the realization of the construction of the permanent sanitary landfill in Barangay Sto. Tomas Apugan within the coming years.

This city is still one of the urban centers in the country which does not have a permanent sanitary landfill to solve its worsening garbage problem.