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CONSTRUCTION NEWS BULLETIN
Tun Jose wakes up early Saturday morning. He knows it will be hot in a few hours. He is dressed in bahaki and ready for a day around the yard. He has his whole day planned: mow the lawn, prune the flower beds, cut back the sakati, trim some of the tree limbs that are overgrown, cut down the tangantangan tree on the side of the yard, pull the weeds out; it was an endless list. Tun Jose was sure he would find more things he needed to take care of. A few hours of the relentless sun passed. He took a break and realized his yard was cluttered with displaced mounds of clutter; all of the biodegradable, or ‘green’, waste. There’s only one problem: properly disposing it. It’s unsightly, sure. But, what was once a service that was offered to residents has many, including Tun Jose, just how to take care of the clutter and debris and possibly reuse it. According to a 2006 Guam Integrated Solid Waste Management Plan cited by the Guam Solid Waste Authority website, “up to 40-percent of waste taken to the Ordot Dump is yard waste.” The Ordot Dump was closed earlier this year, and now garbage is sent to the Layon Landfill. Additionally, more and more Guamanians are finding ways to be more environmentally friendly. This includes reusing Tun Jose’s grass trimmings and tree and bush limbs to create compost and mulch as a way of managing their yard waste, while increasing fertilization. Mike Limtiaco of Pacific Unlimited, Inc., says they saw an opportunity to meet “the demand requirements for wood waste and greenwaste disposal and started Pacific Topsoils and Compost”, a division of Pacific Unlimited, Inc. The family-owned company has several divisions, including Pacific Trucking, ManHita Farms, Far East Equipment, and Subsistence Prime Vendor, among others. Pacific Topsoils and Compost takes “wood material and greenwaste for disposal, manufactures mulch and compost, collects food waste to incorporate into compost, and distributes erosion control products.” All of their products are made right here on island at their facilities in Ordot and Yigo. Limtiaco says their products are available for use for the entire public. They can be used for garden beds, commercial farming, and landscaping. “Guam, being an isolated community with a lot of vegetation growth, needs to dispose of that growth and waste properly,” says Limtiaco. “We have been successful at manufacturing compost and producing mulch to different specifications,” Limtiaco adds. He points out production would
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ideally generate a revenue stream instead of charging a tipping fee for the disposal of the waste. The cost of creating a revenue stream is nothing compared to what has reportedly contributed to a growing problem in our ecosystem. He points out that importation of some of these compost and mulch products has proved to be detrimental to not just pocketbooks with the introduction of invasive species. “Guam currently imports compost, topsoil, and mulch products,” he says matter-of-factly. “Although we cannot be certain of how these invasive species arrived on Guam, …there have been several reports of Rhino Beetle grubs in these types of products.” Limtiaco, a former senator in the 32nd Guam Legislature, says policy makers can help grow an industry, which has the potential to restrict possible invasive species while growing an industry, creating jobs, and adding to government revenues. “The legislature has made progress with legislation to address invasive species but more can be done,” says Limtiaco. “To my knowledge I believe policy makers allowed the private sector to find solutions,” adds Limtiaco. He cites how Pacific Topsoils and Compost was born from the idea to handle the restriction of greenwaste by Guam Solid Waste Authority. “The success of industry is dependent on the demand for recycled products,” he comments. Limtiaco and Pacific Unlimited are looking at the bigger picture for Guam: recycling. A concept for elementary school students to learn the three R’s: reduce, reuse, recycle. It isn’t enough to drill it into a younger generation of what to be aware of and to anticipate. At this point, it’s a matter of working to mitigating the problem right now. As Pacific Unlimited, Inc. took greenwaste that would not be picked up by regular trash collection and created their own products, Limtiaco says local businesses can take small steps to work toward efficient, environmentally friendly ways of conservation, along with moving toward more local purchasing to move away from importing goods. The main concept surrounding greenwaste and the products and services of Pacific Unlimited, Inc. is sustainability. In an age where residents and businesses are looking at ways to significantly reduce their carbon footprint and more environmentally friendly, it starts by doing the small things. It’s about getting the community involved and educated about ways to reduce our dependence on Mother Earth. If it’s buying energy efficient light bulbs for a few cents more, or having your greenwaste go toward a local garden,
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