Effective microbes seen to solve the city’s landfill problem

A Japanese technology was presented to the city government as a solution to reduce the volume of piled solid wastes, prolong the city sanitary landfill’s lifespan, and treatment of wastewater effluents. It uses effective microorganisms.

The technology was given birth by Dr. Teruo Higa of Ryukyu University in Okinawa, Japan during 1980s and was presented during the recent meeting of the City Solid Waste Management Board (CSWMB) on Tuesday.

“This is a microbial treatment process that we hope could be sustainable and this is about the use of effective microbes as a way to bio-remediate,” said Dr. Arnil Emata, an aquaculturist and zoologist, who worked with a company based in Bukidnon province.

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The Bukidnon-based company developed and came out with a product two years ago, both in liquid and powder form. The powder form can be applied to the wastewater, while the liquid form can be diluted into water at a ratio of 1 liter to 100 liters of water, before it will be sprayed to wastes which will turn the solid waste into soil in a short span of time since it will work in digesting the garbage.

The microbes that they are using are naturally-occurring. Its benefits to ecosystem include nutrient availability in the soil, disease control and management, rapid decomposition, probiotic, removal and reduction of foul odor and treatment of wastewater effluents.

Present in the product is yeast which work for the degradation of organic products. Other elements presents are Lactic acid bacteria, Photosynthetic bacteria, Actinomycetes and Fungi.

He explained that the newly-dumped waste should be spread out at 4 to 5 inches thickness and then sprayed with it.

“Ang gagawin lang ay dump-spread-spray. Kahit residual ay na de-degrade at slowly bumababa kasi nagiging powderized na (ang solid wastes) at hindi na ganun mapupuno ang landfill. Even residual (wastes) can turn into soil,”

Through the initiative of the City Environment and Natural Resources Office, water samples have been collected from the leachate pond and shock dose of 20 kilos of powder form of the product was applied.

Dr. Emata said that he was accompanied by the personnel of City ENRO during the collection of water sample from the leachate pond and during the application of the powder form of the product.

The product introduced is likewise applicable for use in agriculture, and livestock such as poultry and piggery farm.

“If you have chicken manure right now ay mawawala ang amoy. Sa mga wastewater naman, when applied with its powder form ay magiging liquid fertilizer na sya,” said Emata.

The most significant benefit of the product is the restoration of the high nutrient and productivity of the soil as a result of the multiplication of beneficial microbes that will stay on the soil.

“The beneficial microbes mas lalong dadami. Rich na rich na yung soil kasi nagiging nutrient sya. Sa odor removal naman it suppress microorganism na nag create ng odor kasi kung maraming beneficial microbes ay hindi makapasok si pathogenic microbes,” explained Emata.

He further said that the price of their product is only P500 per liter for liquid form and P500 per kilo for the powder form, which is cheaper compared to the imported probiotic products at P3000 to P4000 per liter.

Dr. Emata said that the Tourism Industry Economic Zone Authority (TIEZA) funded P300-million sanitary landfill in Albuquerque, Bohol province that cater 17 towns and one city.

“May leachate treatment plant doon at may fishpond pa doon, gamit ang effluent na lumalabas at nagpapatunay na hindi nakamamatay ng isda,” he said.

He said that in Iligan City, there was a significant result within 18 hours after applying shockdose. Even solid wastes such as corn cobbs can turn into soil after 15 to 28 days, as a result of fast decomposition.