Mayor Benjie Magalong signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the officials of a private company to establish an “ecology toilet” system that treats and recycles wastewater into a potable water after being scientifically processed using anaerobic bacteria.
Officials of the IIRMA International Consultancy Inc., a domestic corporation linked to IRUMA International Fukouka Co, LTD of Japan visited Mayor Benjamin Magalong emphasizing their proposal to establish an ecology toilet in the city.
Dr. Yasuhide Takashima, one of the pioneer inventors of the ecology toilet said Baguio City will be first foreign land to use the technology 25 years after its development in Japan.
The Japanese technology using sake bacteria which was derived from rice hulls is being offered to process toilet waste in households, offices and even the sanitary plant of Baguio City.
In the MOU, IIRMA will establish a demonstration unit of ecology toilet for public use in the city. An estimated cost of P5 million for the establishment and operation of the ecology toilet demo unit for six months will be born solely by IIRMA.
The city on the other hand, shall issue the necessary government permits for the installation of the technology, provide power and initial clean water source as well as the site where the ecology toilet will be built, among others.
The MOU is subject for city council confirmation.
The unsolicited proposal was earlier presented to the city officials by Engineer Arnel Hibo of IIRMA saying that the Japanese technology will lessen the volume of water needed to flush a traditional toilet system.
Hibo furthered that maintenance of traditional toilet system requires volume of water that may contribute to the possibility of water crisis in the future in Baguio.
According to Hibo, the technology was proven effective in saving water in Japan. The Ecological Toilet System (ETS) has four more additional stages unlike the traditional water tank and flushing method. Hibo explained that in the ETS, there are tanks for fermentation, processing, filtration and storing of clean water.
He explained that in the fermentation tank, the feces will be trapped there while the water will be extracted. He said that the sake bacteria will be put in the said tank to decompose or dissolve the solids. Then water excrete will go to the processing tank to rid out the remaining solid materials before going to the filtration tank where the water will be further “purified”.
Hibo said that the processed water will be stored in the clean water tank so that it can be used again for flushing, watering the plants or even for washing. He said that if well processed, the water can also be used for cooking or drinking depending on its social acceptability. / Jessa Mardy Samidan
