CLIMATE CHANGE action:
BIO-FERTILIZER BASED ON SARGASSUM
At Green Garden Corp., we have always been committed to transparent corporate social responsibility. For this reason, we want to take advantage of this medium to share that we have begun to use Sargassum-based fertilizer in different hotels that we care for and maintain.
In recent years, we have experienced an increase in sargassum on many beaches around the world. In addition to its high cost of removal, this algae gives off an unpleasant odor when it begins its putrefaction process, which causes a bad image and a lot of inconvenience for tourists. In addition, the largest economic source of many of these Caribbean countries is tourism, so Sargassum ends up affecting the country's economic growth.
A study by the Superior Technological Institute of Misantla obtained the following results during the preparation and use of this type of fertilizer:
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“By applying this biofertilizer to agricultural crops, the use of “synthetic fertilizers” (Finck, 1998), and the cost of “agricultural production” (INEGI, 2007) are significantly reduced.
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The quality of the "crops" is increased (INEGI, 2007), maintaining soil moisture and offering greater availability of nutrients.
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The beaches are kept free of visual pollution.
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National business opportunity for mulch, a useful input for landscape design and gardening, leachate, alginate, etc.”
In Figure 1 we can observe the process for the elaboration of this type of fertilizer based on Sargassum (Cuxim Suaste & Balam Cen).
At Green Garden Corp. we collaborate with Dianco México, a company made up of environmentalists, engineers, biotechnologists, agronomists and scientists specialized in Phycology. We also share values as they are passionate about technology, sustainability, innovation and the use of natural resources.
With a sustainable, innovative, automated process with "0" waste, 100% of the sargassum collected by governments, hotels, sargaceras and transporters is used to transform it into organic fertilizers. The damage to the ecology, to the image of the beaches in the face of tourism, to the filtration of leachate into the subsoil and the damage that these cause to the health of the population is avoided, by preventing the sargassum from continuing to deposit in the jungle. This process also offers a real solution to the problem of erosion, since up to 95% of the sand is recovered to be returned to its beaches.
The process they follow is based on the ISO 9001-2015 standard and is as follows:
Storage - Treatment - Sand extraction - Salt extraction - Heavy metal removal - Nutrient extraction - Bagasse processing - Bacterial enrichment - Packing and packaging - Storage - Delivery
Figures always help put things in perspective:
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150,000 tons of sargassum will be transformed per year (1 ton in 5 minutes)
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100% of the sargassum (wet and dry) will be used
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0% waste generated
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95% of the sand contained in the sargassum will be recovered
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2,600 tons a year of sand will be able to return to its beaches
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300 tons of PET, glass, aluminum and garbage will be separated and recycled every year
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70% of our process water will be reused
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1,500 tons will have the capacity of our Collection Center
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6,000 tons of Biofertilizers will be packaged monthly
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4,800 tons of Soil Improver will be packaged per month
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2,000,000 small agricultural producers may be benefited per month
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5,000,000 hectares will be able to replace agrochemicals with organic fertilizers
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Millions of trees will not be felled with our pulp production (2nd stage).
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We are proud to collaborate with Dianco México to continue helping to keep our world healthy and in continuous evolution.
References:
Cuxim Suaste, M. E., & Balam Cen, R. V. (n.d.). Proceso para la elaboración de un biofertilizante a base de Sargassum. CITT. Retrieved August 18, 2022, from https://citt.itsm.edu.mx/
Dianco México. Nuestra innovación. (n.d.). Retrieved August 18, 2022, from http://diancomexico.com/dianco/nosotros