COMMUNITY LEVEL COMPOSTING OF MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE

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RISE-AT Waste Management Factsheet 2 Community Level Composting of Municipal Solid Waste costs involved. The aim of this factsheet is to provide sufficient information to guide you through the decisions that must be made when considering building a community composting site. Every community is different and will have its own requirements for the composting plant. With this information you should be able to design a facility that is right for the situation in your area. A composting facility can be developed without the purchase of specialised equipment and this factsheet explains how it can be done. 1 - INVESTIGATE THE MARKET FOR COMPOST Before starting any work on building a community composting facility, it is essential that some time is spent investigating the economics of composting and the potential market for the compost in the local area. The compost is not precisely a fertilizer and the market for it in agriculture can be more potential than real. Therefore you must first find answers to the following questions:- What is the existing market for compost - Who buys it What do they use it for How much do they buy How much do they pay What is the potential for the msw compost product Who would be interested in the product How much would they be prepared to pay How much of the compost product would they buy At what time of year would they use the compost How could the market be increased What is the current situation with use of chemical fertilizers Who uses it How much do they pay What subsidies do they receive Would they be interested in changing to compost If the results of this study show that there is a market for the compost, the next step is to assess the waste situation in the area to decide on the size of the plant and the quality of product that can be produced. If the results show that there no real market for the product, there are steps that can be taken by local authorities to create a market. Page 2
RISE-AT Waste Management Factsheet 2 Community Level Composting of Municipal Solid Waste MARKET DEVELOPMENT It has been found in many areas where composting has become part of the msw system, that active development of the compost market is essential. Government/Local Authority action to stimualte the market can include: ♦ Use of the compost in all public works projects, including some high profile projects in parks and gardens. ♦ Giving compost away free to garden centres and businesses. ♦ Require that nurseries that supply plants to government funded projects use the compost. ♦ Removing or modifying subsidies on chemical fertilizers that compete with the compost. Once you know how much you can sell the compost for and how much you are likely to be able to sell, you can use this information to estimate the income from the composting facility. This needs to be considered and compared to the expenditure and operating costs when designing the plant. Experience has shown that many plants using high cost machinery fail, as construction and operating costs exceed the revenue received from the sale of the compost. If the primary purpose of the composting facility is to reduce the amount of waste sent to a landfill, it may be possible to justify the composting facility that does not make a profit but covers the costs of producing the compost and breaks even. It is also important to note that during the composting process the organic waste will reduce in weight by up to 50%, so 2 tons of organic waste will produce 1 ton of compost. 2 – CALCULATE THE REQUIRED SIZE FOR THE PLANT The next thing to consider is how much waste the community produces and how much of this will be composted. This can be used to calculate how many tons of waste per day the facility will receive. Consider the size of the community now and also the potential for growth over the next few years. A life-span of 8-10 years is a good basis for the calculation. Ideally the chosen site for the facility should have the area to expand as the amount of waste produced by the community increases. HOW MUCH OF THE WASTE IS ORGANIC WASTE THAT CAN BE COMPOSTED The following list gives an idea of the types of materials that can be used. • DRIED BROWN GRASS • STRAW • PRUNINGS AND CUTTINGS • DRY LEAVES • HAIR • CARDBOARD/PAPER • SAWDUST Page 3
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COMMUNITY LEVEL COMPOSTING OF MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE

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