SENATOR Cynthia Villar encouraged local government units in Negros Occidental to practice composting in compliance with Republic Act 9003 or Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000.
Villar, chairperson of Senate committee on environment, was in Bacolod City on Wednesday, May 17, to speak at the three-day Capacity Enhancement on the Operations of Composting Facilities for Biodegradable Wastes at May’s Organic Garden.
She said the government through the Bureau of Soils and Water Management will provide 800 units of composters nationwide.
During the training, 162 units of composters were released to the representatives of local government units and cooperatives in the province.
Villar said the program started in 2013 by former Agriculture Secretary Proseso Alcala, wherein they gave out composting machines and provided trainings to convert wastes into organic fertilizer.
A composter can produce one ton of organic fertilizer every month.
“We have been encouraging the use of organic fertilizer to bring back the soil productivity. It is the best soil enhancer,” Villar said.
