Japanese expert suggests: Cebu City should have proper composting facility

CEBU, Philippines - A Japanese consultant on environmental management and urban development has recommended to the Cebu City government to build a suitable composting facility considering that the city now has its own septage treatment plant.

After a two-year pilot survey in the city, Nao Takeuchi of EX Research Institute in Japan noted that the existing composting facilities in Barangay Kalunasan and at the North Reclamation Area are “unusable.”

“As operational recommendations for future... compositing facility that can accommodate 15,000 per day of sludge cake should be established,” she said yesterday during her presentation of the pilot survey result examining the applicability of dewatering equipment on septage management.

Alongside with the study was the establishment of the septage dewatering system constructed and further operated by AMCON INC, which also provides technical capacity development training of operation and maintenance of treatment facilities to local personnel; and recycling of dewatered sludge cake (filtered solid substance) for composting, among others.

The septage treatment facility was formally turned over yesterday to the city. The project is funded by Japan International Cooperation Agency.

An agreement was signed on December 18, 2013 between Mayor Michael Rama, Takahiro Sasaki of JICA – Philippines, AMCON INC. Manager Kazuo Kaneko for the pilot operation of the AMCON’s technology “Volute Dewatering Press.”

At the same time, EX Research Institute provided technical and managerial support to AMCON, Inc.

The undertaking is aimed to address the problem on the untreated waste dumped at the Inayawan Sanitary Landfill.

Considering the existing sanitary problem, Takeuchi noted that at least 31 Filipinos die every day in the country from diarrhea alone due to contaminated water.

In the local setting, she said there are improper septic tanks wherein extracted groundwater is contaminated by its closely installed septic tanks.

Some are also directly discharged to riverbanks or waterways while some septic tanks remain stagnant for years or has not been desludged regularly.

With lack of treatment facility, they proposed for an enhanced septage system. The project site can be seen along F. Cabahug Street near the city-owned slaughter house.

Takeuchi showed the improved septage treatment model that will discharge the filtrate (liquid) to a nearby lagoon and separate the sludge cake (solid substance) for composting.

However, she admitted they had a hard time finding proper composting sites where the sludge cake will be used. The composting site in Barangay Kalunasan reportedly lacked access road for trucks while the other one at North Reclamation Area lacked in space.

As an example, she showed a photo of Japan’s covered-composting facility.

Cebu City Septage Management Board Chairman, lawyer Janeses Ponce, said it is proven that sludge cake can help hasten the composting process of solid waste.

But he sees the need for the city to allocate funds to maintain such facility and invest for this long-term initiative.

He said the findings and recommendations presented will be considered for further discussion. (FREEMAN)