Composting and its applicability in developing countries

2006

This book is about converting organic waste into resource-a partnership-based and decentralised approach to waste composting. It is based on actual ground level experience of Waste Concern-our partner organisation in implementing several decentralised composting projects in Dhaka as well as replication in Bangladesh and other Asian cities. Solid waste management has become a major environmental problem for the fast growing towns and cities of low and middleincome countries. Most urban local bodies in the developing countries are cash-strapped and unable to provide satisfactory waste management services. In most cities not even 50 percent of the generated waste is collected. The present solid waste management system in developing countries is based on the "end of the pipe" solution, i.e., collection-transportation-crude dumping of waste with limited recycling of inorganic waste, mainly by the informal sector. The physical composition of solid waste of the developing countries consists mostly of organic matter, which is biodegradable. When organic waste remains uncollected in the streets, drains or when disposed in open crude dump sites, it poses three major environmental problems: firstly, ground and surface water pollution through leachates; secondly, spread of disease vectors from open and uncovered waste dumped in crude dump sites; and thirdly, emission of methane which is a major green house gas due to anaerobic condition in the dump sites. In order to avoid the solid waste-triggered environmental hazards, use of compost needs to be promoted. One of the sustainable approaches is to look at waste as a resource, not as a problem. This manual demonstrates that it is possible to turn waste into jobs and opportunity for the poor, and improve food security. This manual provides step-by-step guidelines on how to initiate a decentralised composting project in a developing country. It is our hope that this resource book on composting and solid waste management will prove to be indispensable to communities and practitioners alike, especially for the urban local bodies, private sector and NGOs.

Humanities & Social Sciences Reviews

Purpose of study: The interest of this study is to show that the composting of various organic materials makes it possible to contribute to reducing the quantities of Waste sent to landfills and, consequently, the removal of their environmental impact. The aim is to show that aerobic composting of organic Waste can be an alternative to sustainable waste management in Algeria by examining the potential for producing compost from different organic waste streams. Methodology: The method is based on analyzing documentary data, field surveys and experiments. The latter examines the potential for producing compost from different organic waste streams in Algeria. Three types of Waste are composted and analyzed: green Waste, kitchen waste and a combination. The experiment was carried out from March until June 2021; it involved using organic Waste to produce three different composts in their composition. Research has focused on studying the complex interplay between physical, chemical and bi...

2004

Composting is a process of converting organic waste into humus. Humus is inert, so it can be used as a soil conditioner or as landfill cover. In low-income countries, inorganic waste such as metals and glass is often recycled by the informal sector, while non-governmental organizations and the private sector take a lead in recycling organic waste through composting. Nevertheless, organic waste and other value-less waste remains a major problem. This book presents the findings from the DFID-funded research project 'Promoting Compost as a Business for the Urban Poor' in the form of guidelines developed from case studies. The guidelines are helpful for planning and managing compost projects for creating sustainable employment for the urban poor.

Abstract: Population explosion, high urbanization and improved living standards have induced rapid changes in quantities and material compositions of solid waste generation globally. Until recently solid waste disposal in landfills and open dump sites was considered more economical and it is the most widely used methods in developing countries. Hence the potentials in the other alternative methods such as the resource recovery and recycling and their integration into waste management have been scarcely assessed. However, the ever growing challenges posed by the rapidly increasing quantities and compositions of solid wastes in developing countries led to the searching for alternative waste disposal methods. In this regard the paper presented an assessment of the resource potentials of municipal solid waste materials arising from cities in developing countries as a strategy for sustainable solid waste management. Using published data on solid waste composition the paper has identified that there is high potentials of composting in the solid waste stream from cities in developing countries. In conclusion, it recommended the recovery of organic waste material and papers for composting and the recycling of plastic, metals, textiles and others to explore their resource recovery potentials. This will largely reduce the ultimate quantities of solid waste for disposal and lower the operating costs. This strategy will achieve sustainable waste management in developing countries. It is hoped that the paper has provided a useful guide for wastes management policy decisions in developing countries. Keywords: Resource potentials, Organic waste composting, Municipal solid waste composition, Sustainable waste management, Developing countries

Solid waste has become a major environmental problem for growing towns and cities in low income countries. Especially in rural municipalities, the solid waste generation is commonly dominated by organic residues. However, the importance of proper waste segregation and recycling of organic waste and the related benefits for agriculture and environment are still underestimated in many municipalities in the Philippines. Although the legal framework promotes material recovery and recycling and especially demands the establishment of a recycling component in every community, composting remains a scattered and low efficient waste management practice so far.

As in other developing countries, organic wastes are by far the dominating waste fraction within the municipal solid waste stream in the Philippines. Hence, backyard or small-scale composting systems are considered as efficient strategies to reduce cost for the municipal waste collection, to produce soil enhancers and to lessen environmental impacts such as gas-and leachate generation in waste disposal sites. However, solid waste generation patterns and management systems vary considerably for the urban and rural setting in the Philippines. Whereas agricultural activities dominate in the rural setting and offer various options to reuse or recycle organic wastes, in cities, the driving forces for the recovery of organic wastes are rather low. Although the legal framework demands the establishment of a composting component in all municipalities, composting is still hardly practiced in the Philippines. This paper evaluates data from six case studies of municipal composting projects in the western Visayas namely: Bayawan City, Bais City and San Carlos City on Negros Island, Buenavista Municipality on Guimaras Island and Roxas City and Passi City on Panay Island. The study compares applied technologies, used input materials, produced outputs, investment and operation costs and evaluates benefits for the local waste management systems. Whereas Bais City, San Carlos, Passi and Buenavista implemented composting projects using windrow-, boxes-and vermi-composting, Roxas City and Bayawan City established more costly, mechanized drum-composters inter alia to reduce processing time and to enhance product quality.

Second International Conference on Recycling and Reuse of Materials (ICRM-2011)

Several experiments (both short-term and long-term in duration) conducted in different countries revealed that compost prepared from municipal solid waste has considerable potential in supplying plant nutrients and in improving soil productivity; but can pose threat to environment . However, comprehensive information in respect of recycling municipal solid wastes (MSW) for its beneficial use in agriculture is very scanty in India. This article attempts to understand the obstacle in adoption of MSW compost in the integrated nutrient management in Indian agriculture as well as to suggest doing away with it for better utilization.

Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 2002

The most promising strategies for improving management of solid wastes have been identified as minimisation of the amount of the solid wastes generated and maximisation of waste recycling as well as resource recovery. The latter strategy includes composting. A composting research and pilot scale demonstration project was implemented in Dar es Salaam City. It was meant to try out the applicability of composting as one of the strategies for minimising waste and recovering resources from household waste. Among other things, the project set out to quantify compostable waste and establish as well as test-run a pilot scale composting plant. Field operations and pilot scale experimental work were carried out along with pertinent laboratory analyses. The carbon-nitrogen (C/N) ratio of raw organic waste, which accounts for over 78% of all household waste was 37-43. The C/N ratio of the final compost was between 6 and 21. Composting achieved a waste volume reduction of 49-70%. Thus the net reduction in volume of all the household waste was 38-55%. Field trials of the compost product improved yields of vegetable crops by more than 35% and extended their production period by more than a month. Also, the temperature developed during the waste composting process was high enough to kill pathogens, making the solid waste safer for soil application and disposal.

Journal of International Environmental Application and Science, 2017

Both the waste component, the rate of waste production and the amount of waste with increasing urbanization and industrialization day by day have increased. Disposal or evaluation of these wastes resulting from industrial, commercial, domestic, treatment plant and agricultural activities has become inevitable for municipal corporations. The amount of organic waste in solid wastes is about 40%, and the priority preferences of waste management include these wastes that have been chastened and recycled into environmentally compatible products. For this reason, compost production is becoming an alternative as an environmentally friendly biodegradation option that is becoming increasingly widespread. Biodegradable wastes which are described as garbage in public by compost are possible to convert into useful products. Therefore, compost can be made from a lot of waste as tree bark, animal faces, vegetable and fruit wastes, algae and other water plants, paper, newspapers to wastewater treatment muds. These produced composts can also be used in different fields from fruit to flower, from erosion control to odour elimination filter material. In Turkey, 33*10 6 t/year of Urban Solid Waste (USW) was produced according to the data of the year 2013 and if compost production was made from these wastes, 6.6*10 6 t/year compost could be produced. With the assumption that 5 t/ha compost can be used for agricultural land, the amount of land that can be applied to this manufacturable compost is seen 1.3*10 6 ha/year. In the light of this information, compost raw materials, application areas of compost, compost technologies and preferential reasons and compostrelated legislations in our country have been examined.

Rapid and unplanned urbanization in most cities of India has progressively increased the problem of managing municipal waste in the past few years. With insufficient infrastructure and funds, municipalities in most cities are struggling to cope with the pace of waste generated. Open dumping and burning of waste is widely in practice as a cheaper option leading to high pollution levels. Scientific disposal of waste in a large scale with the elements of segregation, composting, recycling, landfill and incineration are hardly practiced. In an effort to finding affordable and simple solutions to address this burning issue of waste disposal, a pilot scale study was conducted focusing on segregation methodology leading to zero waste community. A resident colony in the city of Guwahati has been chosen, which is seen as a typical representative of most cities in India in terms of size and key issues surrounding waste management. Scientific management and disposal of waste on site is carried out from segregation to compositing. Identifying bottlenecks in the success of the model, data on efficient composting of the waste collected were part of the study. Similar satellite waste management plants could potentially be a solution to supplement the waste management system of municipalities of similar sized cities in India or South East Asia with similar issues surrounding waste disposal.