Composting used to be a widespread practice. Until the early 1900 , it was estimated that 90% of the fertilizer used in the United States came from compost.

In 1913, the German company BASF (BadischeAnilin- & Soda-Fabrik) started operating the world’s first ammonia synthesis plant to produce synthetic nitrogen compounds, including fertilizers. These new chemical fertilizers were produced quicker than messy animal manure compost.

Productivity soared to levels unheard of in the past, and the farmyard compost pile quickly became a thing of the past. By 1950, it was estimated that only 1% of the fertilizer used in the United States was derived from compost.

In 1962, Rachel Carson, an American marine biologist wrote the popular book Silent Spring. In the book she pointed out that technological progress is so fundamentally at odds with natural processes that it must be curtailed. She ushered in a new public awareness that nature was vulnerable to human intervention.

The consciousness and the need to regulate industry in order to protect the environment became widely accepted.

Environmentalism was born.

In the Philippines, the environmentalism philosophy of Manny and Cynthia Villar is anchored on the need to continually seek sustainable solutions which are always linked towards other objectives such as providing more jobs to the poor, saving money of the city government, building organizations, and creating synergy with other sectors.

It is an environmentalism that transcends middle-class notions of having a healthier lifestyle and being ecologically friendly.

Household Waste Segregation

When the Congresswoman Cynthia Villar sought to produce compost on a city-wide scale, it was met with opposition.

As in many enterprises which require social mobilization, there was resistance from the people.

To encourage their participation, the Congresswoman Villar dangled the incentive of investing in the rotary composter and the building to house the composting facility if the homeowner’s association or barangay would counterpart a suitable lot of around 36 square meters.

Of the twenty-barangay leaders, five leaders readily committed themselves to the program. Seventy-five percent (75%) of the leaders did not want to join.

Unfazed by the rejection, the Congresswoman took the time out to sit down in dialogue with each and every barangay to answer all of their apprehensions and concerns.

Segregating garbage required a house to house education campaign by the different associations. Where to bring the segregated garbage became the primary responsibility of the City government.

From this segregation, the biodegradable waste would be turned into compost.