Home Composting Using Facultative Reactor

Concerns with the final destination of organic solid waste (OSW) generated in rural areas originate from the possibility of this waste harming the environment, in addition to producing bad smell and attracting pests, when improperly disposed of in the soil. In this sense, composting might be a suitable way of dealing with this residue. This chapter presents the advantage of treating rural OSW through composting in reactors. Facultative reactors present the advantage of not requiring handling or large areas for the waste processing, and they do not generate bad smell and do not attract pests, which represent common drawbacks of the conventional windrow composting process. The final product of this composting process can be used as fertilizer for crops, resulting in the economy, since commercial fertilizers do not have to be bought. Works carried out by the Analytical and Environmental Chemistry Research Group at the State University of Ponta Grossa--Brazil have reported important results regarding the use of facultative reactors with different OSW mixtures. From the monitoring of physical, chemical, biological and spectroscopic parameters, it was seen that composting in facultative reactors produced stable compost matured in a short period of time.