Black soldier flies seen as boon amid waste management woes

BAGUIO CITY — The local government here is exploring the use of black soldier flies to help address its biodegradable waste problem, a city official said Wednesday.

Eugene Buyucan, chief of the Baguio General City Services Office (GSO), said a single female black soldier fly can lay up to 1,500 eggs that will develop into larvae. These larvae can then consume food waste from households.

The larvae can be harvested and used as animal feed, while the remaining waste can be composted or used for bioenergy production.

According to Buyucan, constructing and maintaining a black soldier fly facility is not expensive. The city plans to install three facilities in different parts of the city.

One is already operating in Barangay Irisan, and another will be built at the Baguio Sewerage treatment facility in Sanitary Camp.

Buyucan admitted that a major challenge is a lack of personnel to manage the project, as existing staff are busy with garbage collection.

He said the project would require the cooperation of local barangay governments and residents to manage biodegradable waste.

The current facility is maintained by a private company and serves a limited number of clients, and Buyucan said the use of black soldier flies is only part of the city’s overall waste management strategy and that the real solution is the “collective effort and tight cooperation of everyone.”