Participant Detail

Research Title

UpGrower: Innovative Biofertilizer from Antioxidant-Rich Mango Peels and Cotton Clothing Waste

Research Abstract

The Philippines faces escalating agricultural and textile waste that poses significant environmental and economic challenges. Compounding this problem, the country imports over 80% of its fertilizer to support agriculture- a key economic driver- creating additional economic strain and vulnerability. To address these issues, this study developed UpGrower, a sustainable biofertilizer produced from non-recyclable mango peels, rich in carbohydrates and antioxidants, and discarded cotton-based clothing waste. These materials were fermented using cellulose-degrading bacteria, lignin-degrading bacteria, or microbiota from tree bark and soil. The resulting product was further refined through the CleanGrower process, a chip-shaped pollutant filtration device introduced in a previous study, to remove toxic substances. Application to key Philippine crops demonstrated that formulations derived from both mango peels and clothing waste enhanced the growth of corn and tomato, while clothing waste alone and tree bark microbiota promoted tomato growth. Moreover, a Two-Stage Model, a machine learning model developed to predict the most effective approach of UpGrower in real-world environments, accurately predicted the most effective UpGrower concentration and treatment distance for crops. In conclusion, this study introduces a sustainable and transformative approach that converts two major wastes into a functional biofertilizer, offering an innovative solution for circular agriculture and environmental resilience in the Philippines.