Solid waste and septage co-composting as a pathway to cost and resource recovery in Sri Lanka

Due to its low nutrient content, compost from municipal solid waste (MS\I\1 qualifies mostly as a conditioner of soil physical properties than soil fertility. This limits the value proposition of the compost and its potential for cost recovery to maintain the compost stations. One way to enhance the...

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Autores principales: Fernando, Sudarshana, Drechsel, Pay, Jayathilake, Nilanthi, Semasinghe, Christina
Formato: Conference Paper
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: 2014
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/67630
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author Fernando, Sudarshana
Drechsel, Pay
Jayathilake, Nilanthi
Semasinghe, Christina
author_browse Drechsel, Pay
Fernando, Sudarshana
Jayathilake, Nilanthi
Semasinghe, Christina
author_facet Fernando, Sudarshana
Drechsel, Pay
Jayathilake, Nilanthi
Semasinghe, Christina
author_sort Fernando, Sudarshana
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Due to its low nutrient content, compost from municipal solid waste (MS\I\1 qualifies mostly as a conditioner of soil physical properties than soil fertility. This limits the value proposition of the compost and its potential for cost recovery to maintain the compost stations. One way to enhance the compost value is to enrich it with nutrients. Given the increasing attention to fecal sludge (FS) management from septic tanks and latrines, co-composting of both waste streams could be a win-win option to increase the compost nutrient value. To assess the current situation of MSW composting and opportunities and acceptance of co-composting in Sri Lanka several field surveys were conducted including a study of 13 MSW compost plants and current septage management practices in 41 local authorities (LA), a detailed case study of an existing plant mixing MSW and FS, and a willingness to pay study among 257 farmers in proximity of a designated pilot co-composting station. The average cost recovery percentage of the existing compost plants was less than one third of the O&M costs in Sri Lanka with significant variations. The willingness to pay study indicated a high interest in enriched compost. Field trials showed that co-composting with septage could enhance the MSW compost nutrient value. For example, the Phosphorous content of 0.4% could be increased nearly 10 times. In general, co-composting could increase the financial sustainability of the existing compost plants to a substantial degree, while nutrient recovery from MSW without septage addition may not be financially sustainable. Pelletized co-compost could have an increased market value of 70%-1000,1, compare to the normal MSW compost.
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spelling CGSpace676302025-03-11T09:50:20Z Solid waste and septage co-composting as a pathway to cost and resource recovery in Sri Lanka Fernando, Sudarshana Drechsel, Pay Jayathilake, Nilanthi Semasinghe, Christina solid wastes urban wastes composting resource management recycling cost recovery nutrients faecal coliforms sewage sludge farmers Due to its low nutrient content, compost from municipal solid waste (MS\I\1 qualifies mostly as a conditioner of soil physical properties than soil fertility. This limits the value proposition of the compost and its potential for cost recovery to maintain the compost stations. One way to enhance the compost value is to enrich it with nutrients. Given the increasing attention to fecal sludge (FS) management from septic tanks and latrines, co-composting of both waste streams could be a win-win option to increase the compost nutrient value. To assess the current situation of MSW composting and opportunities and acceptance of co-composting in Sri Lanka several field surveys were conducted including a study of 13 MSW compost plants and current septage management practices in 41 local authorities (LA), a detailed case study of an existing plant mixing MSW and FS, and a willingness to pay study among 257 farmers in proximity of a designated pilot co-composting station. The average cost recovery percentage of the existing compost plants was less than one third of the O&M costs in Sri Lanka with significant variations. The willingness to pay study indicated a high interest in enriched compost. Field trials showed that co-composting with septage could enhance the MSW compost nutrient value. For example, the Phosphorous content of 0.4% could be increased nearly 10 times. In general, co-composting could increase the financial sustainability of the existing compost plants to a substantial degree, while nutrient recovery from MSW without septage addition may not be financially sustainable. Pelletized co-compost could have an increased market value of 70%-1000,1, compare to the normal MSW compost. 2014 2015-07-30T06:07:51Z 2015-07-30T06:07:51Z Conference Paper https://hdl.handle.net/10568/67630 en Limited Access Fernando, Sudarshana; Drechsel, Pay; Jayathilake, Nilanthi; Semasinghe, Christina. 2014. Solid waste and septage co-composting as a pathway to cost and resource recovery in Sri Lanka. In Asian Institute of Technology (AIT). From toilet to source - Accelerating uptake of sustainable and integrated wastewater management solutions: proceedings of the 1st Specialist Conference on Municipal Water Management and Sanitation in Developing Countries, Bangkok, Thailand, 2-4 December 2014. London, UK: IWA Publishing; Bangkok, Thailand: Asian Institute of Technology. pp.246-252.
spellingShingle solid wastes
urban wastes
composting
resource management
recycling
cost recovery
nutrients
faecal coliforms
sewage sludge
farmers
Fernando, Sudarshana
Drechsel, Pay
Jayathilake, Nilanthi
Semasinghe, Christina
Solid waste and septage co-composting as a pathway to cost and resource recovery in Sri Lanka
title Solid waste and septage co-composting as a pathway to cost and resource recovery in Sri Lanka
title_full Solid waste and septage co-composting as a pathway to cost and resource recovery in Sri Lanka
title_fullStr Solid waste and septage co-composting as a pathway to cost and resource recovery in Sri Lanka
title_full_unstemmed Solid waste and septage co-composting as a pathway to cost and resource recovery in Sri Lanka
title_short Solid waste and septage co-composting as a pathway to cost and resource recovery in Sri Lanka
title_sort solid waste and septage co composting as a pathway to cost and resource recovery in sri lanka
topic solid wastes
urban wastes
composting
resource management
recycling
cost recovery
nutrients
faecal coliforms
sewage sludge
farmers
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/67630
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