An Overview of Organic Waste in Composting

Abstract

Abstract. This paper reviewed studies on the composting process of organic waste. Organic wastes are wastes that easily biodegradable. These wastes are produced from many sources such as agricultural waste, market waste, kitchen waste, urban solid food wastes and municipal solid waste. Without proper management, these waste could create several environment problem. Therefore, composting is the best low cost alternative solution to overcome this problem. Composting method can degrade all types of organic wastes like fruits, vegetables, plants, yard wastes and others. The composition from organic waste that could be used as nutrients for crops, soil additive and for environmental management. However, many factors can contribute to the quality of the compost products as different types of organic wastes have different concentrations of nutrients, nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium (N, P, K) which are the common macro nutrients present in fertilizers. The presences of heavy metals show how composts can be applied to soils without contributing any ill effect. In term of the factor affecting the composting process, temperature, pH, moisture contents and carbon nitrogen ratio (C:N) are the main parameters that contribute to the efficiency of the composting process.

Assessment of Composting Technologies for Organic Waste Management

“…In terms of nutrient contents, phosphorous, potassium, calcium, sulfur, sodium, and magnesium are required for agriculture (Khan & Ishaq, 2011;Rama & Vasanthy, 2014). Different composting methods affect the nutrient status of the compost and its effects on soil content (Kadir et al, 2016).…”

“…Organic waste or green waste can be defined as organic material that is easily biodegradable (Kadir et al, 2016). Organic material is derived from natural sources.…”

“…Organic material is derived from natural sources. Essentially, any residual kitchen waste (vegetable peelings, food, tea bags, and egg shells), agro-waste (food and beverage processing waste, dairy products, animal waste, and crops), grass clippings, dried leaves, and timber can degrade naturally (Hartono et al, 2015;Ng & Yusoff, 2015;Kadir et al, 2016). The process of degradation is performed by microbial (fungi, bacteria, actinomycetes, and protozoa) and invertebrate (insects and earthworm) organisms, which digest and break down the organic matter (Basri et al, 2005;Fauziah & Agamuthu, 2009;Kadir et al, 2016).…”

“…The awareness of environmental issues has encouraged society to find other alternatives to manage the organic waste disposal process instead of landfills. The composting process can be used for biological decomposition, and this technology has the potential to manage organic waste, transform it into valuable agricultural products, and minimize pollution (Basri et al, 2005;Hartono et al, 2015;Kadir et al, 2016). However, several important aspects need to be considered before implement composting technology.…”

The Management of Unsold Food in Outdoor Market Areas: Food Operators’ Behaviour and Attitudes

“…Some studies reported that it is essential to reduce food loss and food waste for the question of food security [75]. This can be done by using the fruit and vegetable waste at a retail and consumer level (supermarkets and food markets) as substrates in bioprocesses [88] to produce organic fertilizers [89,90], as long as this waste is treated correctly to reduce the environmental impact [91]. Compulsory regulation can set some quality standards to reduce waste [92].…”