Characterization and management status of household biodegradable waste in an upland city of Benguet, Philippines

Abstract

An upland city of the Philippines is continuously battling against its garbage disposal, wherein biowaste makes up the significant fraction in its MSW with the residential area as the primary contributor. Due to its heterogeneity, very few studies focused on the analysis and characterization of biodegradables. This study aims to conduct a waste analysis of biodegradable generated among households as an initial approach for sustainable organic management options. Results showed that a household consisting of 3–9 members have biowaste per capita generation that ranges from 0.04 to 0.31 kg/day, with a weighted average of 0.1122 kg/day. A five-member household can generate an average 0.55 kg per day, in which, 46% is mostly food scrap, followed by kitchen waste-vegetables and fruits (41%), kitchen waste-raw meat and fish (4%) while yard/garden and wet papers comprise the 5% and 4%, respectively. The family size showed a positive relationship with household generation and a negative correlation to per capita generation. The study also revealed that 51% of the respondents do not divert their biowaste at the source. Hence, this research endeavor recommends the need of each household to have decentralized biological treatment as a practical mode of waste diversion and reduction.