Organic Waste.

Organic Waste

Organic waste is a major component of municipal solid waste. Most originates from household waste but commercial, institutional and industrial waste can also contain significant proportions of organic waste e.g. market waste. Organic waste is biodegradable and can be processed in the presence of oxygen by composting or in the absence of oxygen using anaerobic digestion. Both methods produce a soil conditioner, which when prepared correctly can also be used as a valuable source of nutrients in urban agriculture. Anaerobic digestion also produces methane gas an important source of bio-energy.

There is a Worldwide need for environmentally sound methods of recycling organic waste. Millions of tons of organic waste are produced daily in many different forms; such as, organic residual sludge from sewage treatment plants, yard waste and tree trimmings, wood crates and pallets, waste from food processing plants, restaurant food waste, farm animal waste, etc. The practices of disposing of this waste in the oceans, landfills, or by incineration are all environmentally polluting and becoming more and more restricted. Newly implemented laws favor recycling, which is simply converting this waste back into a high quality soil supplement (compost).

There is an emerging market in compost, composting systems, in-vessel composting, mechanical composting, recycling of waste, garbage, food wastes and sewage sludge. Major cities around the nation are actively searching for cost effective methods to recycle organic waste.

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