Harnessing Urban-Academic Sector Waste: Analysis Of Compost Quality And Potential

Abstract

Composting is an effective green practice and a sustainable solution to solid waste management. At the educational institutes on an everyday basis, huge amounts of solid waste are generated from the horticulture, cafeteria and mess. These issues can be handled conveniently in an eco-friendly way by collecting and converting the waste into a useful soil improvement additive, i.e. compost. However, concerns remain for the issues associated with production of compost such as foul smell and long mineralization time. To offer sustainable solutions for waste management, a composting unit has been set up at the college campus. Compost is produced through a modified form of Aerated Static Pile Composting. In the present investigations, physical-chemical characterization of the compost generated at the campus was carried out. Some of the parameters studied included bulk density, particle size, total organic carbon, total sulphide, total nitrogen, total phosphate, total potash, C/N ratio, conductivity and heavy metal contents. To further characterize the compost, spectroscopic analyses were also carried out.