Machu Picchu to Undertake Waste Conversion Program

Amid rising levels of pollution, the district of Machu Picchu has a new strategy for keeping itself clean in a sustainable way: converting organic waste into fertilizer.

The process is called pyrolysis, and uses extremely high temperatures to decompose organic materials. The piece of equipment, called a pyrolyzer, weighs three tons, and can process up to six tons of organic waste at a time.

It was given as a gift to the district of Machu Picchu, thanks to the help of the groups Inka Terra and La Calera.

Seeing as the district has a quantity of visitors daily that exceeds its population, the new technology will be enormously helpful in recycling the twelve to fourteen tons of waste that accumulate in the district.

As for the fertilizer byproduct of the waste, it is being used to increase the yield of farmers in the Machu Picchu district.

This development is just the latest in a long series of proactive moves by Machu Picchu’s administration to address the problem of waste in and around the archaeological site. While the high (and still increasing) traffic to the site tends to imply risks for its environmental well-being, these aggressive measures by the district instill confidence that the captivating mountain fortress will remain a sustainable

Source: Andina.com.pe

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