In the far-flung Colombian highlands, beetles are the secret weapon in an innovative project to combat the ever-growing problem of trash buildup. Here, larvae of the enormous rhinoceros beetle eat through piles of organic garbage that would otherwise end up in polluting landfills. But that’s not all.
The larvae poop is gathered and sold as fertilizer, and when the beetles reach adulthood, they are sold as pets to clients as far afield as Japan. “The beetles have the answer” to rubbish disposal, said environmental and health engineer German Viasus, who runs the project in Colombia’s central Boyaca region.The concept is simple, cheap and, Viasus believes, an example that would be easy to replicate elsewhere in the world.
Each week, his facility in the city of Tunja receives about 15 tons of waste generated by some 40,000 inhabitants of neighboring municipalities. It is piled up as food for the voracious larvae, which can grow to the length of a human hand. Other larvae are held in tanks where they consume leachate — a fluid produced by organic waste decomposition that can be damaging to ecosystems.
‘Cutting edge’ Official Colombian estimates are that the South American country produces some 32,000 tons of garbage every day — more than 2,600 school buses — about half of it organic. Worldwide, some 11.2 billion tons of trash are generated each year, according to the UN.
With the landfill in Tunja fast approaching its end date, Viasus’ larvae offer an alternati.