The time has come to deliver another home composter to a family. Marisa Garcia and her husband, who recently moved with their children to the site of São Romão, in São Brás de Alportel, are already anxiously waiting, at the gate of their villa, for the arrival of the project “From the land to the Earth!" , which will allow them to transform organic waste “into “black gold””.
After crossing a garden full of trees, bushes and flowers, we arrive at the place where the home composter will be placed. It is not yet ready, but the desire to do something for the environment and respect for the planet, makes this family have joined the project since its beginning.
«Considering that I have a little experience with composting, I joined this proposal from the municipality, a little influenced by my neighbor, who also joined and told me about the project», says Marisa Garcia, researcher and member of the initiative, to the Sul Informação.
Graduated in Biology, the researcher has been composting for several years, with the help of her family, not only because of her curiosity to see the whole process being done, but also for other reasons.
«Composting is not just about passion, but also about other factors. If we are not in any hurry to have the compost ready to be used, it even gives us a little peace of mind», he says.
Accustomed to composting using the vermicomposting technique (using worms to transform organic waste into compost), Marisa Garcia has now decided to «try a new way of doing the same thing, but using other methods».
“One of the challenges of being able to compost correctly is that the conditions are right. In addition to using organic waste, the so-called green, several layers of brown are also needed, such as dry leaves, so that it does not smell bad or attract unwanted animals», explains the researcher, while showing her vermicomposting experiments.
The space is prepared, the soil is smoothed, the composter is placed under an indigenous tree and the equipment is ready to be used by the family. But of course, there are rules that must be followed.
The project “From the land to the land!” aims to «promote the recovery of biodegradable urban waste at source», and for this purpose, a domestic composter, with a capacity of 300 liters, is made available to «all residents of the municipality of São Brás de Alportel interested in having a house with a garden or street», explains Cristina Matias, responsible for the Environmental Education service of the São Brasense municipality.
With the delivery of each domestic composter, a Kit of composting with a fork, a soil thermometer and a practical composting manual, as well as the accompaniment, whenever necessary, of a technician from the municipality.
«We started delivering domestic composters a week ago [January 12] and so far people have been joining the initiative», underlines Cristina Matias.
The responsible for the Environmental Education service of the municipality also emphasizes that "this is an alternative for the management of organic waste from São Paulo, which allows the production of fertilizer, while reducing the amount of biodegradable waste sent to landfill".
This is also one of the reasons that led Marisa Garcia to compost: “I also do it for the environment, to try to minimize our presence on planet Earth a little. Since I started making it, I've noticed that I don't need to go to the garbage so often».
“Just kidding, we have this little bit of solid waste here and we're going to put it in the trash. We think it is just a little bit, but multiplying it by millions of people, throughout the year, they end up becoming tons and tons of organic waste that end up in the dumps and that we can turn into “black gold”» .
The objective of putting less waste in landfills, «reducing the municipal bill for its treatment», is one of the challenges pointed out by Vítor Guerreiro, mayor of São Brás de Alportel, for this project.
«Whatever we manage to value, we are saving, we are protecting the environment, which is fundamental, and we are giving added value here to what many think is no longer valuable».
“Bio-waste has great potential in our municipality, which has a vast rural area. By installing the composters, we are taking the opportunity to create a compost that is extremely rich».
This project, which «matches the indications at national level and those of the European Union», results from an application in the order of 40 thousand euros to the Environmental Fund, which was approved and will be reimbursed at 85%.
«Our budget is limited and these are ways of taking advantage of the funds available to serve the population and the environment», explains Vítor Guerreiro.
From an education perspective, composters with a greater load (400 liters) will be placed in schools, public spaces and social solidarity institutions in the municipality, in order to «enhance, with children and families, the appreciation of what we produce and that we think is sometimes useless”.
These composters can be used by residents of the more urban areas of the town, for which they must adhere to the project “From the land to the land!”, and will be managed by the Environment section of the municipality.
If you want to join the project, you can go to the Environmental services of the Municipality of São Brás de Alportel and express your interest in participating. The registration form that is delivered by the services of the municipality can be sent to the email [email protected] or by mail.
«We already have about 150 people to whom the municipality is delivering composters and we are monitoring their proper functioning, providing training, information and tools so that the people of São Paulo can work on their organic compost», which can improve if follow «all the steps of this rigorous process», explains the mayor of São Brás de Alportel.
Despite being delivered to the citizens, the composters are property of the municipality and, after one year, upon evaluation of their use, the lease period can be renewed.
The prize to encourage participation in the project is yet to be defined, which will be delivered at the end of the first year, if the composter is correctly used.
Photos: Rúben Bento | Sul Informação
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