Rapid composting of food waste and yard waste with effective microorganisms (EM)

Rapid composting is an alternative method to reduce highly generated food waste and yard waste discarded to the landfill. This study aims to determine the effect of effective microorganisms (EM) application on the chemical and physical properties and to determine the performance and factors affecting the rapid composting process. The chemical and physical properties such as pH, temperature, moisture content, carbon-to-nitrogen (C/N) ratio and Nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and Potassium (K) nutrient are examined over rapid composting period in order to assess the performance of compost and effectiveness of EM in enhancing the degradation process of organic waste. There are three compost prepared which are A, B and C that received different ratio of EM which 1 L, 2 L and 3 L respectively. Based on the result obtained from the 54 days of composting conducted, compost A, B and C show no significance differences on parameters tested. The temperature obtained mostly within the range 35-38 °C, pH values are 5-9, moisture content are 20-60 % and for NPK nutrient, Total Nitrogen content are 1.3 % to 1.4 %, Total Phosphorus are within 0.10 ppm to 0.45 ppm and Potassium are within 0.8 ppm to 6.7 ppm.

Investigating Composting as a Mitigation Strategy for Climate Change Using a Modelling Approach

The waste management sector accounts for 19% of greenhouse gases produced by the island of Mauritius, and is second to the energy sector which contributes about 77% of total emissions. Significant mitigating measures are being sought to reduce the impact of the waste sector. The main greenhouse gas produced from waste in Mauritius is methane from landfill disposal. Among the different alternate waste management scenarios proposed, home composting is one strategy to achieve carbon reductions in the sector. However, this target can only be achieved if the composting process is properly controlled. Objectively, a lumped parameter model was used to analyse the set of variation parameters to achieve greatest reduction in methane through optimal composting. The composting matrix was modelled as a point source. Mass balance equations were coupled with heat transport equations and reaction kinetics equations to determine the optimal set of parameters for efficient composting of yard waste and kitchen waste. The simulations demonstrated that bulking of vegetable waste prior to composting is required to prevent production of methane.

Preliminary Study of Solid Waste Treatment of Padang Beach Tourism Area, Padang City

Preliminary study of the solid waste treatment of Padang Beach tourist area has done in order to analyze solid waste generation, composition, the potency of recycling, and to recommend the appropriate treatment system applies on the tourist area. The study revealed that daily waste generated as 18.648 L, the components of the waste dominated by food waste 84.215%, plastic 9.254%, paper 2.087%, and non-metal ferrous 1.945%. The potency of recycling of the waste was food waste 91.732%, plastic 88.074%, metals 78.947% and glass 75.758%. By this study it is recommended that waste that has economic value such as plastic, paper, and metal should be collected and sold to the third party, biodegradable waste such as food waste and yard waste should be composted, while others waste that has potency to produce handy craft such as seashell, coconut shell, and sachet packaging should be collected and processed, all treatment activities can be done at the recycling center that located in the tourist area.

The Effect of Activator Addition to the Compost with Biopore Infiltration Hole (BIH) Method

The composition of organic waste reaches 59% of the total municipal solid waste in Indonesia. One way to process organic waste is composting by utilizing microorganisms to break down waste into compost. Naturally, the composting process took a long time but can be accelerated by adding microorganisms to the activator. This study analyzes the quality and quantity of compost using the Biopore Infiltration Hole (BIH) method with activator addition. Composting was duplicated in the yard area with clay soil type and water infiltration rate of 0,3 cm/hour. The BIH was made in a 10 cm diameter, a 100 cm depth, and the distance between the holes was 50 cm. Composting variations consist of variations in the composition of the raw materials and the activators' uses. Variations in the raw material composition consisted of 100% yard waste, 100% food waste, 50% yard waste and 50% food waste, and 70% food waste and 30% yard waste. In contrast, the activator variations consisted of no activator, EM4 activator, and Stardec activator. Compost analysis consists of maturity, quality of physical and macro elements, and quantity of compost. The results showed that all variations of composting had met the standard of maturity and quality of physical and macro elements according to SNI 19-7030-2004. The addition of activator affected composting time and compost quantity. The composting time in BIH with activator ranges from 41-60 days. In BIH without activator ranges from 65-75 days, there was a reduction in composting time by 15-25 days with the activator addition. However, the activator addition caused reducing the compost quantity by 10-20%. The selection of compost variations by scoring results in compost with a composition of 50% yard waste and 50% food waste and the addition of Stardec activators was the best variation in terms of compost maturity, quality, and quantity.