Having a land area of 1.7 hectares, the City dumpsite in Bgy. Candau-ay is home to 500 tons of old garbage and 80 tons of new garbage collected daily from the increasing number of waste generators all over the city.
Established in the late 1960s, the City dumpsite began accumulating garbage with an increasing volume. In 1997, the City Dumpsite & Ecological Park was developed with the goals of resolving the foul smell that the site emitted, making the site pleasant to the public eye, and transforming it into a hygienic place despite the increasing volume of garbage being dumped.
For several years after 1997, the area beside the dumpsite was spruced-up, trimmed and landscaped with many grown-up trees to capture and mitigate the bad odor generating from the trash deposits.
Today, a mound which measures 15 to 20 meters high has been formed. Currently, the City government is searching with dogged determination and persistence for a suitable site to enable the establishment of a sanitary landfill before the existing dumpsite’s operations can be finally put to a stop.
While the daily collection and delivery of garbage continues to pile up, the city has been initiating measures and adopting various means to address the perennial problem of garbage. It has implemented immediate and short-term plans to get rid of the heaps of trash that have accumulated due to the increasing population within the locality.
Thermolysis
In January 2015, the City introduced thermolysis composting using biological enzymes. This is to effectively and competently eradicate foul odor at the dumpsite and the surrounding vicinity, properly manage biodegradable wastes, hasten the decomposition process, enhance the production of organic fertilizers from generated biodegradable wastes and composts, and treat the polluted leachate.
The bio enzymes come in powder form, and have to be diluted with non-chlorinated water before it is sprayed on trash piles. The purpose of diluting is to propagate the bacteria. When they are diluted, the bacteria come to life and begin looking for food as they are starving.
Preparation of stock solution and method of application:
Dissolve 330 grams of biological enzymes in 30 liters of un-chlorinated water. Mix thoroughly and let the solution stand for at least 30 minutes with occasional mixing.
Prepare a sugar solution of 330 grams of brown sugar dissolved in 30 liters of water.
Mix the sugar solution with the 30 liters of dissolved enzyme powder to make a solution of 60 liters. Mix thoroughly and let the mixture stand for three to four hours to activate the beneficial microorganisms.
Apply the stock solution by spraying to 10 tons of compostable materials.
Composting in large areas
Follow a 1:1 ration of the enzyme powder to brown sugar in the preparation of stock solution.
Put the stock solution of 60 liters (30 liters enzyme solution plus 30 liters sugar solution) reactivated enzyme inside a plastic drum equipped with a pump and spray hose. Dilute further to 100 liters.
Let it stand again for three hours for the beneficial microorganisms to propagate.
Spray directly on the pile of garbage.
A prepared enzyme solution of 100 liters can treat 10 tones of compostable solid waste.
Heavy equipmeent
During the preparation of the area for the stocking of garbage delivered at the dumpsite, the use of a bulldozer in this composting method is extremely necessary. A pay loader equipment is likewise essential during the inversion of mound and harvesting of product for stocking.
Cost-cutting
By exploiting the natural heating of garbage mound, expenses are reduced which in turn cut costs during the final disposal of biodegradable materials. Also, by utilizing this composting method, the degraded materials will finally become a soil conditioner. In this case, there is an option of processing further the soil conditioner product into an organic fertilizer.
The most effective method of composting is through the accommodation only of biodegradable solid wastes, thus, segregation at source must not only be implemented but institutionalized at the household level as mandated by Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000 (RA 9003) and the Integrated Solid Waste Management Ordinance of the City (Ordinance No. 115, series of 1998).
Findings, observations
From the month-long application (Jan. 27 to Feb. 26, 2015) of biological enzymes, monitoring results revealed the following:
Lessened volume of garbage despite the dumping of 40 tons of garbage per day.
Eradication of foul odor at the dumpsite and the surrounding vicinity.
Production of more organic fertilizers under the “Waste-to-Food” program resulting from the thermolysis composting of biodegradable solid wastes through the bio enzymes.
Treatment of polluted leachate after spraying with the bio enzymes.
Cleared the area of trashes for some meters away from the road shoulders, street, pathwalk and driveway, thereby decongesting the area from tons of odorous garbage.
Conversion of cleared area into a road, driveway, a wide landscape and open space.
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