BAGUIO CITY- Members of the city council declined the offer of a Japanese company to implement its Solid Waste Decomposer Project (SWP) in the city as one of the major solutions to the city’s garbage problem considering that its P800 million cost is too expensive and beyond the capacity of the local government to infuse to address its garbage woes.
Masakatsu Takatsuka, president of the Damairu Eco, Inc., said the use of the Japanese technology of decomposing the city’s biodegradable waste which is now being used by three prefectures in Japan would greatly help in coming out with a sustainable solution to the city’s current garbage problem.
The proponent disclosed their company is trying to make the Philippines the second country in the world to adopt the SWP considering that Japan prefectures are already putting in place their technology to solve their respective garbage problems.
According to him, the Solid Waste Processor decomposes the solid waste and it is powered by powerful magnets which can be ionized and introduced into the garbage component where there is an ion exchange done to facilitate the decomposition of garbage and its eventual conversion into white ashes.
In SWP, waste is being degraded and can also handle medical waste and hazardous gases; it also decomposes all organic materials and inorganic materials that can be recycled.
The council inquired from the proponent on whether or not the city could use the ashes to earn income in order to recover the huge expenses for the technology but Mr. Takatsuka informed them that the ashes could be mixed with concrete mix and used for concrete works to be implemented around the city.
The proponent pushed for the adoption of the technology in the city by saying that he has yet to visit the proposed site where the SWP will be installed before he could make a final assessment on the actual cost of the project for the city, saying that their company was able to install a similar prototype machine in Pasay City where interested local governments could visit to evaluate whether or not the same is applicable in their place.
Benefits of SWP include: not steam intensive, less handling, no refrigeration, less electricity and no special packing.
Meanwhile, Takatsuka reiterated that, the SWP is not an incinerator; this can operate 300 degrees centigrade lesser from the incinerator.
Its advantages include no transportation cost; elimination of some processes on medical waste management: and more efficient garbage collection.
Black Hole technology used in La Trinidad is also a decomposing machine similar to the SWP. It also eliminates odor; has lesser heat, and does not emit hazardous smoke.
The final product of SWP is the ceramic ash which can be used as a material for ceramic tiles and cement, making it more durable.
BY SHERYL GRACE BIAG & APRIL JOY MEDINA
