Sugba Lagoon in world-famous Siargao Island, home to one of the biggest mangrove forests in the Philippines, is now also a showcase of a technology called the Eco-Friendly Septic System (Eco-Sep).
Sugba Lagoon, described by travel site Lonely Planet as “A spectacular lagoon surrounded by epic mountains”, has adopted the tech in order to protect and conserve its wildlife and natural resources located within the island village of Caub in the municipality of Del Carmen, Surigao del Norte.
Eco-Sep is a self-sustaining and movable wastewater treatment system that uses an innovative combination of bio-stimulation and filtration and is developed by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-Philippines) supported by the Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development (DOST PCIEERD).
“Following the successful testing of Eco-Sep in the sewerage systems of the bunkers of Yolanda survivors in Palo, Leyte in 2013 and in Boracay last 2015, Department of Science and Technology – DOST Caraga installed and field-tested Eco-Sep in selected tourism areas and environmentally compromised areas,” said DOST Secretary Fortunato de la Peña in his Facebook post on March 2, 2020.
The country’s science and technology chief describes the Sugba Lagoon’s Eco-Sep as follows:
“It is a low-cost and deployable method for the immediate installation of domestic wastewater clean-up.
“Eco-Sep also incorporates the use of Vigormin, an odorless, white powder composed of various organo-minerals capable of neutralizing strong wastewater or septic odor.
“It can also neutralize decomposing or rotten odor from organic waste in landfill or material recovery facilities; a perfect technology that can also be used in disaster-affected areas anywhere in the country.”
The Water-Energy-Nutrient Nexus Research Project from De La Salle University, another DOST-supported project with wastewater, was awarded the 2020 Newton Prize Fund for turning sewage into fertilizer.
Meanwhile, Filipino and Pinoy-at-Heart celebrities Erwan Heussaff, Jasmine Curtis-Smith, and Kyle “Kulas” Jennerman have joined the Juan Effect campaign to protect Siargao.
Siargao, the surfing mecca of the Philippines, was again picked by Condé Nast Traveller editors among its top choices for holiday travel in 2020.
SEND CHEERS in the comments below to the people of Siargao’s Sugba Lagoon for protecting their environment with the adoption of this Eco-Sep system!
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