siliconindia | | October 20209tritive value of agricultural produce. So how is agricultural microbial tech-nology sustainable or `green'? Unlike the usage of chemical inputs, which cause a vicious cycle of dependency with time, microbes naturally colo-nise agricultural soils, reproduce and maintain their numbers. A microbial replenishment using specially chosen plant growth enhancing microbes is hyper critical to ensure that agricul-tural soils remain arable for the com-ing generations to benefit from.Microbial Technology & the global sanitation co-nundrumToday one of the greatest challenges developing countries face is poor sanitation. And it comes saddled with two more issues: disease epidemics & lack of access to clean drinking water. A lack of a planned sewer net-works in semi-urban and rural com-munities around the world has given rise to the installation of septic tanks and bio-digestors as an alternative for faecal sludge management. Despite this, rural communities in particular grapple with the social evil of open defecation due to latrine usage aban-donment. The most common reason for la-trine usage abandonment is septic tank failure. Toilets become dys-functional due to odour emanation & clogging arising from extreme sludge build up. When left uncorrected, it forces people towards open defeca-tion. Not only does this give rise to social evils such as molestation of women & children, but also has seri-ous health & environmental implica-tions as well in the form of disease epidemics arising from exposed fae-cal waste & ground water contami-nation with untreated faecal waste. The need of the day is to bring into practice, simple yet effective biotech-nological solutions for faecal sludge management and safe disposal of bio-logical waste.What if we could prevent a break-down before it occurred? Sludge build up in septic tanks occurs due to poor natural microbial activity. Microbial replenishment of septic tanks using robust & effective enzyme producing microbes can ensure optimal sludge breakdown & prevent pathogenic growth. Couple this with switching to septic tank friendly natural clean-ing products, and we can nip the en-tire problem in the bud! No engineer-ing technology in the world can beat the simplicity, cost-effectiveness and efficiency with which a humble mi-crobial community works. A grave problem with a simple, cost-effective & green solution!Microbes can be David to the Goliath of solid waste management crisisPoor solid waste management means more than just smelly landfills. It means impending disease epidemics, noxious & greenhouse gas emissions and pollution of epic proportions. We are throwing away more than we can replenish, replace or recreate. The bad news is that we are hurtling to-wards the point of no return at warp pace. The good news is that there is still a way out.The simple act of segregating bio-degradable and non-biodegradable waste and composting biodegrad-able waste can reduce the amount of garbage that reaches the landfills by half. Not just this, compost can be used to replenish the fertility of ag-ricultural lands and reduce the usage of chemical inputs by a large extent. At the epicentre of any organic waste management process are of course - microbes. The right microbes, when present in a composting system ac-celerate the breakdown of organic matter and hasten the creation of the compost. Creating a high turnover composting system with highly effec-tive robust microbial machinery at a community level is a green solution can decentralise waste management and ease the burden most municipal bodies face today in tackling the Go-liath that is solid waste.In ConclusionPhilosophy teaches us that our exis-tence relies on a continuous balanc-ing act. What we seldom realise is that microbes have been doing the balancing act for us all along. They clean the water we make dirty, they replenish the soil we over-use, they degrade the waste we create and pro-duce antibiotics to help fight disease. Microbes are truly the alpha and omega of any conversation on sus-tainability. Shifting the heat map of climate change from terrifying hues of red and orange to a promising blue and green can be made possible if we learn to harness the unlimited poten-tial of microbes. What if we could prevent a breakdown before it occurred? Sludge build up in septic tanks occurs due to poor natural microbial activity
< Page 8 | Page 10 >