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Compost making and its benefits

Posted Date: 19 Aug 2022 |Updated: 19-Aug-2022 |Category: Syllabus |Author: |Member Level: Platinum |Points: 25 |


Daily we will be generating a lot of food waste that will be going to landfill. This will create a load on the land and also will produce greenhouse gases that are not eco-friendly. The best alternative is to convert them into compost. Compost making and its benefits are discussed in this article

Introduction:

India is a big country with a very thick population. Every day we will be producing a lot of food waste and also there will be a lot of plant waste also. This will be around 30% of the waste that our country is producing daily. This is being sent every day to landfill. Instead of sending for landfilling, if the same can be converted to compost we will have more organic compost that can be used for agricultural purposes.

Compost is an organic material that can help the soil to become more fertile and also help the plants to go faster. This compost will increase the yields of the crops and there will not be any harm that is being faced by us in using synthetic fertilizers.

Ingredients in compost:

The ingredients of compost are mentioned below. In compost making, it is advisable to use plant wastes and food wastes in equal proportions.
  1. Plant wastes such as dead leaves, twigs, and branches of a tree. This will provide carbon to the plants

  2. Food wastes like coffee powder, grass, waste vegetables, etc. This will provide nitrogen to the plants.

  3. Water is to moisten the above two ingredients. It will be useful to break organic material into small sizes.

How to make compost:

Many methods are described in the literature. A general method is given below for a general understanding of the process.

Select a suitable place in the backyard. The place should be shady and dry. It is better if water is available nearby. Make a pit in that place. If the open place is not available you can use bins that will have some holes on the sides for ventilation. Collect plant wastes as mentioned above and if they are big in size make them into small size pieces. Collect food wastes as mentioned and make them also small in size. We can add domestic food waste also to it. Add both the above in the same ratio into the pit made. If dry leaves are added it is advisable to add a little water so that these dry leaves will also get moistened. Go on turning them once in a while and once the pit is full cover it with a plastic sheet and leave it. It may take a minimum of 2 months to get compost ready.

The benefits of composting:

The following are the benefits derived from composting.
  1. Reduces the waste that will be sent to the landfill. The food waste that we collect in our houses can be used for making compost so that waste generation will come down. We can save the land and the burden on land will come down. The same can be used for making our soil more fertile.

  2. Methane emissions from landfill will reduce: In a landfill, a sufficient quantity of oxygen is not available for the material to get aerobic decomposition. So, the above-mentioned organic wastes will undergo anaerobic decomposition and produces methane which is a greenhouse gas and cause air pollution. Modern landfills are provided with a methane capturing mechanism but this arrangement will never ensure 100% capture of produced methane.

  3. Soil quality will be improved: Compost made will contain nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. This will also contain some trace quantities of nutrients like iron. And calcium. Magnesium and zinc. So, when the compost is used, the land there will get enriched with these ingredients and we need not use any synthetic materials to improve the quality of the land.

  4. The water retention capacity of the land will get enhanced when we use this compost. Hence water requirements will come down. So, the yield percentages against the water used will be high and we can save a lot of water.

Wastes that can be used for composting:

The following are some of the materials that can be used in compost making.
  1. Coffee filters and material left over after ground

  2. Uncoated cardboard as small pieces

  3. Ash that will come from fireplaces by using natural wood

  4. Leaves, shells of various nuts, sawdust, tea bags

  5. cooked food leftovers, newspaper, etc.

Wastes that can't be used for composting:

The following are some of the wastes that can't be used for composting.
  1. Chemically treated plant parts

  2. Meat waste, fish remanets, eggs

  3. coal and coal ash

  4. litter

  5. grease, oil and fats, etc.

Conclusion:

Compost is having many advantages. It is very good for organic forming. At the same time, it will reduce air pollution and also save land, and the load on land will come down. Hence it is good if all of us start preparing our own compost and use it for our own gardening purposes we will help the environment to improve.


Comments

Author: Umesh23 Aug 2022 Member Level: Diamond   Points : 2

Composting is the easiest way to utilize the waste products in the household, especially the food items, vegetable parts, and other such material. This article has given some practical tips to make compost in the backyard of the house itself. If people resort to it in big numbers then we can reduce the municipal waste significantly.

People who are living in flats or apartments can also go for composting in a small way by taking a big bucket or container and layer in it the waste material. They can bring some tree leaves fallen on the ground from the nearby park or garden and inter layer them in between. Occasionally some water has to be sprinkled on them to keep them slightly wet for better composting. The bucket or container should be covered with a top to avoid bad smell in the house. The bucket or the container is to be kept outside in the balcony.

Author: S.Pattavarayan13 Jan 2023 Member Level: Gold   Points : 3

I have listed below, in brief, some of the different types of composting that exist-

Backyard Composting: This is the most common method of composting and involves creating a compost pile in your backyard using a variety of organic materials, such as leaves, grass clippings and kitchen scraps. This method is simple and requires very little equipment or maintenance.

Vermi-composting: This method involves using worms to break down organic materials in a contained area, such as a bin or container. Vermi-composting is a great option for people who want to compost indoors and have limited space.

Bokashi Composting: This method involves using a special type of fermentation process to break down organic materials, typically food scraps. Bokashi composting is popular among apartment dwellers who do not have space for traditional composting methods.




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