P15-M plant to turn trash into organic fertilizers – The Manila Times

CABIAO, Nueva Ecija: The local government here is ready to operate a P15-million materials recovery facility (MRF) that is expected to produce 12,000 bags of organic fertilizers for distribution to farmers in the next planting season.
Cabiao Mayor Ramil Rivera over the weekend said the composting facility would be a big help to local farmers who are facing rising prices of basic commodities and farm inputs.
The recycling facility could process 500 to 1,000 bags in three days to produce around 12,000 bags of organic fertilizers.
Rivera said Cabiao farmers can hardly afford commercial fertilizers that used to sell for P850 per bag but now cost P2,300 per bag.
He and officers of the Community Environment and Natural Resources Office-Nueva Ecija South on Friday pushed for immediate opening of the composting facility and the blessing of the new MRF with five bioreactors at Barangay Concepcion here.
In an interview, the mayor said the project aims to promote proper waste management and sanitation in the town's 23 villages and boost the livelihood of 64 families that trade in garbage.
When the MRF operates, segregation of waste into biodegradable and degradable will no longer be implemented in Cabiao, but garbage will still be collected.
.Processing and segregating of the trash, which has been delegated to 64 families, will be done by the five bioreactors at 10 tons daily.
The machines were donated by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Department of Agriculture.
The MRF, which will be run by the Municipal Agriculture Office, is in compliance with provisions of Republic Act 9003 on solid wastes, Rivera said.
At present, Rivera said the local government of Cabiao sends all of its garbage to the Metro Clark sanitary landfill in Capas, Tarlac, paying P5 million a year.
When the MRF becomes fully operational, only biohazardous wastes will be shipped to the sanitary landfill for P1 million a year as payment to Metro Clark Waste Management Corp., the mayor added.
The P4 million saved by the Cabiao local government, he said, will be set aside for medical purposes.
Biohazardous wastes include blood, syringes and blades.
The DENR website says organic fertilizer is a major source of plant nutrients in intensive small-scale, organic-based vegetable production, and for sustaining soil health and productivity.

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