Integration of a Communal Henhouse and Community Composter to Increase Motivation in Recycling Programs: Overview of a Three-Year Pilot Experience in Noáin (Spain)

Abstract

This paper presents a three-year pilot experience of a new municipal waste management system developed in Navarre, Spain that integrates composting and hens. The aim of this new system is to motivate the general public to participate more in waste prevention programs. The Composter-Henhouse (CH) is a compact facility comprised of a henhouse and three composters. This is shared by 30 families who provide the organic part of their kitchen waste to feed the hens. Hens help speed up the composting process by depositing their droppings and turning the organic residue into compost. This study assesses the CH in terms of treatment capacity, the technical adequacy of the composting process, the quality and safety of the compost obtained and some social aspects. Over three years, the CH has managed nearly 16.5 tons of organic waste and produced approximately 5600 kg of compost and more than 6000 high-quality fresh eggs. No problems or nuisances have been reported and the level of animal welfare has been very high. The follow up of the composting process (temperature, volume reduction and compost maturity) and a physicochemical and microbiological analysis of the compost have ensured the proper management of the process. The level of involvement and user satisfaction has been outstanding and the project has presented clear social benefits.

Municipal Solid Waste Management in a Decentralized Composting Scenario: Assessment of the Process Reproducibility and Quality of the Obtained Composts

“…The EC values in the final composts were in the range of 3.2 dS m −1 (compost 3) to 7.4 dS m −1 (compost 6) (Table 6), these values being similar to those found in previous works with OFSMW [24,30]. Although Storino et al [35] established that the addition of poultry manure to the co-composting of OFMSW with urban pruning waste did not increase the salinity of the final compost, in the present experiment, the addition of donkey manure to the mixture caused an increase in the EC of the final compost from 3.5, 5.3 and 5.3 to 5.3, 6.1 and 7.4 dS m −1 in the piles 4, 5 and 6 of Carrícola (Table 6), respectively. The final nutrient content of a mature compost defines its fertilizer capacity to improve agricultural crops and is determined by the heterogeneity of the starting materials [36].…”

La Economía Circular y los Sistemas de Control de Calidad de Procesos y Productos

“…(Sinclair et al, 2018) Herramienta de mapeo de intervención del consumidor, la cual permite tener en cuenta a los usuarios a la hora de un desarrollo de producto con prácticas de EC. (Storino et al, 2018) Proyecto de Composter-Henhouse (CH) para reducir los desechos orgánicos, teniendo algunos métodos (ISO 6579 e ISO 7251) para garantizar la calidad del compostaje.…”

Analysis of Municipal Waste Development and Management in Self-Governing Regions of Slovakia

“…Therefore, Buenrostro et al [35] illustrated MSW as waste, originated in the frame of municipality territory. Storino et al [36] have brought a new system for municipal waste management that integrates composting intending to motivate the public to increased participation in waste treatment. Beede and Bloom [37] examined the economic development of treatment with municipal solid waste through global development.…”