Bacteria that manages your waste

Kenyan households now have the opportunity to manage foul smells that emanate from poor waste management practices.

This has been made possible through technology that uses bacteria to break down waste and reduce pollution.

“The bacteria is packaged and sold to people as a chemical (eco-waste digester) to manage waste. One litre is enough per individual.

“A litre retails for Sh350, a price that many can afford. The whole  process involves forming organisms  that help create the enabling environment by forming the formidable reservoir of enzymes necessary to break down virtually and naturally occurring organic matter,” says Haron Aldra, an eco-waste expert.

This eco-treat method of waste treatment eliminates all bad odours permanently, hence eliminating the usage of chemicals such as moth balls, kerosene and soda ash.

Ecosave Africa, the company that manufactures the eco-waste digester, is registered and certified by Nema, which ensures the process does no harm to the environment.

Aldra says eco-treat has become a big name in the area of waste water management in well-established waste water treatment firms, water and sewage companies, several municipalities, schools, slaughter houses and commercial and residential estates. Many have testified on how the process has helped them manage their waste.

Waste management is a challenge that people struggle with especially in urban settings where population pressure has continued to threaten planners.

With our increased population, waste from fats, oils, starches, animals and humans continue to affect the environment. Through the eco-treat method, organic waste (waste without chemicals) made of carbon-hydrogen bacteria is introduced into septic tanks, lagoons or sewer systems. These bacteria, through a simultaneous process, break down and digest the waste. The bacteria are cultured, or made, in a laboratory.

Schools in Kitengela and homes and lodges such as Kilaguni and Samba are some of the facilities that use this method of waste management. Some people use it in waste water recycling allowing them to cut down on water bills and exhaustion services.

Claudia Ndong’a, a mother of five living on her own farm in Kitengela says the benefits are immense.

“When I built my home ten years ago, waste management and water treatment was a big challenge.

“My sewer system was problematic and a foul smell was part and parcel of my compound, but when I started to treat my sewer with this eco-treat technology, all changed.

“I  manage my sewer waste by using the chemical I bought from Ecosave Africa. I am also able to recycle the water for my flower garden.”

Unlike other methods of waste management,  the waste digester reduces water costs as water is recycled. It causes less pollution and the process does not produce methane, one of the gases responsible for global warming.