2019

This is an Entry to the Government Best Practice Recognition Awards

Title

Utilization/Conversion of Market Waste into New Products (Recycling of Market Biodegradable Waste) “Basura na Napakinabanagan Pa”

Organization

Local Government Unit of Guiuan

Best practice Focus Area(s)

Environmental Management, Social and environmental responsibility, Climate change mitigation

Summary

This best practice was introduced after the devastation of Super Typhoon Yolanda or “Haiyan” which made its first landfall in Eastern Samar where the municipality of Guiuan was totally devastated causing voluminous typhoon debris scattered all over. While clearing major streets and public places, many responders offered help in all aspects; government organizations and international non-government organizations like UNDP and Oxfam focused on the improvement of Solid Waste Management where they offered all the necessary things needed for programs like materials, equipment and even financial aid for cash for work assistance and a lot more.

Seeing daily a voluminous waste generated at the public market, it was always an aspiration to improve the waste management at the marketplace, searching for solutions and management strategy until an innovation was conceptualized by utilizing biodegradable market waste where the fish waste will be converted into Fish Amino Acid (FAA), vegetable waste will be converted into Fermented Vegetable Juice while fruit waste will be converted to Fermented Fruit Juice. This was initiated by an employee who happened to have a little knowledge of the fermentation process. Starting with an experimentation trial and error until such time that the production process was perfected.

Background and Problem

One of the major problems facing urban and rural areas is the collection and disposal of solid waste. Piles of uncollected garbage pollute the environment and clog the drainage system. This circumstance exposes people to diseases transmitted by pathogens as well as to various safety risks and the nuisance caused by such a situation. The problem becomes enormous with the increasing generation of all kinds of waste due to improper waste management.

Recognizing the need to combat the mounting solid waste problem, the local government unit (LGU) of Guiuan imposed measures such as the implementation of R.A. 900. It is now high time for LGUs to impose sanitation programs otherwise known as the “Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000”, giving priority to addressing the foregoing problems especially in places where people have their livelihoods such as markets and other public places where a generation of waste is a big challenge. In combating this global problem, this prompted the local government to push for the realization of this innovation as one of its best practices in the diversion of market biodegradable waste.

Solution and Impact

Waste management is everybody’s concern, not only the  government’s but also that of the vendors, the market-goers and all the stakeholders considering the impact of the program whereby in their little way, the stakeholders can contribute to the cleanliness, odorless and environmentally clean working environment. Also, the market-goers will benefit from the cleanliness of the surroundings, the farmers, and livestock raisers. The product is marketable and saleable where the return of investment can be achieved, which in turn means more income for the workers will be at hand to augment their daily earnings. 

The introduction of this program was a great help in the waste reduction and waste diversion into new, usable resources. In Guiuan, the LGU implements Republic Act 9003 otherwise known as the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000, wherein the barangays will be the one to manage their waste, including the collection and disposal of biodegradable waste from the household level and establishing their respective Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) where only residual and special waste will be collected by the municipality.

What was applied in the barangays were also applied to the market and the commercial district where vendors, especially in the wet and fruits and vegetable sections, segregated their respective wastes which is then collected by the collectors to be processed in the Central MRF located at the local disposal site. Fish waste will be stored in a pale or any container for fermentation process, with added sugarcane molasses and cultured microorganism, while fruit and vegetable waste will be shredded first so that decomposition will be faster before adding molasses and cultured micrograms and covering it with manila paper. After a wait of around twenty to thirty days, the mixture will be liquefied and filtered to be ready for bottling and labeling. The product is now ready for use. The success of this program totally changed the condition of the market environment with regards to cleanliness and sanitation, thus helping reduce the volume of the garbage by utilizing the waste itself. Biowaste is not just eliminated but turned into a very useful product. Discovering this technology will boost the entire Municipality of Guiuan, making this the first in the province, and maybe the first in the region.

Milestones

With this innovation, many people are quite pleased with the products considering these are made out of biodegradable market waste which ordinarily has no more use. The FAA produced has been proven effective especially in removing unpleasant odors such as from dead animals and even people. FAA also serves as a good organic liquid fertilizer, also applicable in livestock and poultry raising, while fermented vegetable and fruit juice are good for backyard vegetables and ornamental plants.

With this endeavor, the Local Government Unit of Guiuan was given a Plaque of Recognition by the Environment Management Bureau (EMB) Regional Office and at the National level given by the Eco-Waste Management by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) through the National Solid Waste Management Commission.