Barangay Tuntungin-Putho continues to engage in composting as a livelihood project for garbage collectors and farmers of the community.
Called the “Natural Compost Project,” it has benefited a total of 100 individuals by lessening their household garbage and ensuring that there are no chemicals in the organic compost mixture to be used for their plants. In addition, it has helped the community reduce organic wastes by as much as two tons of garbage.
This initiative was started in compliance with Municipal Ordinance 2001-08 (Kautusan Hinggil sa Pangangalaga ng basura at ang mga Karampatang Pataw Ukol Dito) of the Los Baños Local Government. Since it was started in 2015, the project has been implemented by Brgy. Capt. Ronaldo Oñate, together with barangay garbage collectors Novo Magtangob, Reynaldo Asuncion, and Willie Llianto.
According to Brgy. Capt. Oñate, their goal is “zero-waste disposal,” which means that the garbage collected from each household in the community will not be put in the dump site located in San Pedro, Laguna but instead recycled, sun-dried, and combined with organic compost mixture for the plants.
Garbage from households in the barangay is collected every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 2 pm onward.
Biodegradables, such as kitchen wastes, are sun-dried to eliminate unpleasant odor and later mixed with other natural biodegradable items, like leaves and bark of trees. The soil is also added to the mixture. After a period of four months of sun-drying and grinding, the compost will be ready for packing in 1-kilo zip lock bags. Such are donated to public preschool and elementary schools of the barangay as the community’s contribution to students’ gardening activities.
Some of the soil is also used the barangay’s backyard farm to fertilize crops and plants. Goods harvested from the farm are used for the barangay’s feeding program, which lasts for three to six months.
Brgy. Capt. Oñate said that the community intends to sell compost which they will market as “Natural Compost: Barangay Livelihood Project for Garbage Collectors and Farmers.”