Biodegradation and Recycling of Urban Solid Waste

Abstract

Problem statement: Rapid urbanization and population growth are largely responsible for very high increasing rate of solid waste in the urban areas, its proper management and recycling is major problems of Municipal Corporation. The proposed study attempted to proper management, physicochemical analysis of Urban Solid Waste (USW) and its conversion to enriched compost by ecofriendly process. Approach: For this study, we used turned windrows method for composting of USW, microbial inoculums added uniformly and temperature, pH, moisture maintained throughout the composting process. The chemical composition of compost obtained at the end of the composting process compare to the United State Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) standards. Results: A study in Jabalpur had shown the 47% of Urban Solid Waste (USW) were degradable and 53% non-degradable. The initial compositions of urban waste were indicates an organic carbon status of 38% with the C: N ratio of 950. The additives used in solid urban waste composting such as cow dung and green manure recorded organic carbon content of 25.60 and 34.60 and C:N ratio of 30.11 and 11.23. Conclusion: The results of the study clearly indicate that the recycling of solid urban waste can transform garbage or municipal solid waste to enriched composts. This is practical significance if adopted by urban farmers as a result of soil health and in turn the productivity of soil can be maintained for further agriculture.