Estate Developer Tasks Government on Bio-Technology
By: Niyi Lawal & Faith Omisakin
An Estate Developer and Chairman of New Page Construction Company, Engr. Stanley Ubeagwu has urged the government to mandate Estate Developers to adopt the new innovation of bio – sewage digester system to replace age long septic tank, which he said has continued to cause health and environmental hazards.
Engr. Ubeagwu made the call recently in an interview with Abuja Digest Newspaper in Abuja; saying that it is high time government rises to prevent increasing rate of environmental hazards inimical to public health caused by the septic tank system.
His words: “The inherent problems of septic tank which ranges from releases of hydrogen sulphide with its associated smell, overflows and leakages, occasional emptying with associated bad smells that cause environmental pollution, ground water pollution, danger of spillage of septic tank content during floods and breeding ground for cockroaches and mosquitoes are of great concern because of its effects on public health and this is the reason we are calling on government to look into this and encourage bio-sewage digester system.”
He explained that bio digester is an advanced toilet waste management system that seperates liquid waste from solid waste, purifies the liquid by breaking through bio filters laid on bed of the tank and rapidly degrade solid waste with the aid of an waste eating enzymes.
Engr. Ubeagwu added that bio digester usually has anaerobic chambers that treat human waste effectively without the need for any cleaning or emptying of the tank for at least 15 years of usage when rightly used.
According to him, “They work by allowing all toilet flush hitting the tank to be seperated into solid and liquid.
The water created by the anaerobic digestion process is not suitable for use as drinking water but it can be used for irrigation, in the garden or cycled back into the system to flush toilets. Since biodigester systems require an anaerobic tank to operate anaerobic, with no oxygen, the entire process is completely free from any nasty smells too.”
“The bio digester is sealed and does not allow bad odor to be released to the environment. The waste materials are passed easily from one chamber to the other thus, preventing any kind of clogging. The amount of pathogens present in the water is greatly reduced which makes it safe for use by plants during irrigation,” he explained.
He stressed that the system is an innovative on-site biodegradable technology that offers integrated treatment of sewage in a manner that poses minimal risk to the environment and public health, which does not require electricity to operate hence suitable in remote areas.
The Devloper added that the system utilises the turning of waste products into environmentally friendly products thus reducing air pollution.
Other benefits of the bio sewage digester system he listed are; less land space and low maintenance requirement, rapid separation of liquids and solids, absence of bad smells and fecal sludge accumulation, absence of leakages and overflows, eliminates need for extraction, dislodging or draining, designed for cleanliness and good sanitation practice among others.
