Composting

Composting


It is controlled biological process which converts organic constituents usually wastes into humus like material suitable for use as a soil amendment or organic fertilizer

Composting Process

It consists of a period of rapid decomposition and self-heating followed by a cooler, slower decay of remaining organic substrates. All the three major groups of soil microorganisms, bacteria actinomycetes and fungi are involved in this process. Regulating the kinds of organic substrates and controlling the physical and chemical attributes of the decomposition environment in the compost pile facilitate the process. Manipulating moisture content, pH, nutrients concentrations and oxygen can bring about increased decomposition rates and changes the characteristics of the compost. Today, enhancement in the modern engineering has resulted in the growing use of composting for municipal and industrial waste treatment and nutrient recovery. The same microbial process is used by the both large commercial composting/industries and by backyard gardeners.

Conditions for optimum Composting

            Availability of organic matter in bulk
            Nitrogenous material in plenty
            Adequate supply of water to keep it moist
            Proper air circulation
            Warm temperature for optimum decomposition

Advantages

Composting is a very good technology to convert organic waste into useful soil amendments
Composting improves soil fertility whether in backyard gardens or agricultural lands
It promotes crop productivity and soil quality
Composting generally poses a low risk to the environment, assuming that it is free of heavy metals or hazardous organic materials
It eliminates pathogenic or deleterious organisms, insect larvae, intestinal parasites and weed seeds.
It reduces waste volumes which facilitates its transportation to the field for soil application.
Composting is an economical approach compared with other wastes handling technologies.






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