HOME COMPOSTING: IMPLEMENTATION AND EVALUATION OF THE PROCESS

Abstract

: In Brazil, the Municipal Solid Waste (RSU, from Portuguese Resíduo Sólido Urbano) is a growing issue that is faced both in the formal field, in regulatory laws, as well as in management practices, concerning social and environmental responsibility of individuals, businesses and municipalities. Among the several components, organic matter corresponds to more than half of the entire amount of generated waste. As a treatment and a recycling alternative, home composting can improve the use of this fraction generated by Brazilian households. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to implement and evaluate a home composting system in four households. In each residence it was set up a cylindrical reactor of 255L to store the leftovers of fruit and vegetables as it was generated, being mixed and covered with rice hull. Weekly, the temperature and volume of the filled reactors were recorded. The final composts were assessed by the macro and micronutrients contained and their maturity stage. As a result, it was possible to reduce the amount of waste allocated for public management by the recycling source. The efficiency of the process was verified by monitoring the temperature and the absence of unpleasant odors. When 90 days were elapsed after the attendance, three of the researched households have remained with the composting system, voluntarily.