Composting Organic Waste to Make Commercial Organic

Fertilisers
These technologies have many applications in developing countries. One of the
controllingpollution.com major deficiencies in agricultural soils in Guam and other tropical region in
the Pacific is the low inherent organic matter content that reduces production and degrades the soil
structure. Composted organic material is being applied on experimental agricultural fields in Guam
to enhance soil nutrients and organic matter contents and to improve the chemical and physical
properties of the soils used for agriculture.

In a pilot project in Guam, compost is produced from

ground vegetation debris that is mixed with: fish feed,
shredded paper, animal manure and other organic wastes.
The processed compost is then applied to the corn fields
at the rate of; 0, 30, 60 and 120 tons per acre. All
applications greatly increased yields, with the exception
of the highest rate of !20 tons per acre. The study
concluded that the use of composed organic material as
the main source for a soil fertility program was practical
in the Pacific islands. Developing these farming practices
into a sustainable agricultural system was also feasible
but the economics needs to be further examined.
Several studies in the Philippines have found that domestic house-hold waste contains 50% - 60 %
ends organic waste that is dumped as land fill. Also the farms that surround major urban centres in
the Philippines also produce large amounts of organic waste which are either burned (as in the case
of rice stalks and rice hull) or are dumped in landfills. The lowest cost means of processing this
organic waste is to just simply collect the organic material, shred it, pile it up, and let nature take its
course. In one to three months month the compost can be used on the farms. The speed and quality
of the compost can be greatly enhanced if the right 'bugs' are added.
The Agricultural Inoculants Corporation of the Philippines has produced an additive for a project
that cost P50,000. For a net cost of $1,200 per bag, the AIC microbial rapid composting agent yields
about 2,000 kg of complete high-grade organic fertilizer. The organic fertilizer that is produced
costs P100 per bag or about $2 per bag, about half the cost of other commercial organic fertilizer in
the Philippines which is about P200 or P250 per bag.
This a good example where simple back-yard domestic processes can be geared up to provide
commercial scale products.
In Australia many municipal councils have developed Organics Resource Recovery Facilities. One of
the first was developed at Port Macquarie on the north Cast of New South Wales the material
collected from the green bins picked up from the kerbside is mixed with mulched bulk green organic
materials. It is chopped, shredded and combined with solid sewage sludge from Council's Sewage
Treatment Plant. The material is placed in temperature and humidity controlled tunnels to hasten
the decomposition process. Air is driven through the organic material via pumps fed into the base of
the tunnel and recycled process water is added via sprays at the top of the tunnels when required.

All exhaust gases from the composting tunnels are passed through Biofilter unit to remove odours
and to filter our any particulates. The compost is removed from the tunnels after about 4 weeks and
stored in the open air to dry out. This composted product is available for sale from the site.
However, as with all domestic waste products there is a high risk of contamination and this reduces
its use. Most of the material is used for council parks and gardens. It is not suitable for use on
agricultural lands.
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