Potential of Producing Compost from Source-Separated Municipal Organic Waste (A Case Study in Shiraz, Iran)

Haniyeh Jalalipour, Neematollah Jaafarzadeh, Gert Morscheck, Satyanarayana Narra and Michael Nelles
Additional contact information
Haniyeh Jalalipour: Department of Waste and Resource Management, Rostock University, 18051 Rostock, Germany
Neematollah Jaafarzadeh: Toxicology Research Center, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran
Gert Morscheck: Department of Waste and Resource Management, Rostock University, 18051 Rostock, Germany
Satyanarayana Narra: Department of Waste and Resource Management, Rostock University, 18051 Rostock, Germany
Michael Nelles: Department of Waste and Resource Management, Rostock University, 18051 Rostock, Germany

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 22, 1-17

Abstract: Developing countries face serious environmental, social and economic challenges in managing different types of organic waste. Proper treatment strategies should be adopted by solid waste management systems in order to address these concerns. Among all of the treatment options for organic waste, composting is the most approved method as an effective strategy to divert solid waste from landfills. This experimental research aimed to examine the potential of producing compost from source-separated municipal organic waste in Shiraz, Iran. Market waste (fruits and vegetables) and garden waste (plant residues) were used as the raw input materials. They were subjected to the windrow pile composting method in an open site area. The process was monitored against several physical, chemical and biological parameters. In-situ measurements (temperature and moisture content) were carried out on a daily basis. Sampling and lab analyses were conducted over the period of the biological treatment. The final product was of acceptable moisture and nutrient levels, pH, Electrical Conductivity (EC), and Carbon/Nitrogen ratio. All of the analyzed compost samples had lower concentrations of heavy metals than the Iranian and German standards. Overall, the results obtained revealed that composting is a promising method for municipal organic waste treatment. The findings also imply the effectiveness of the source-separation collection method in the production of high-quality compost.

Keywords: municipal organic waste; windrow composting; solid waste management (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/22/9704/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/22/9704/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:22:p:9704-:d:448500

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().