Composting of Urban and Agricultural Waste in Ghana Quality of Compost and Challenges

Rockson, G.N.K (grockson@yahoo.com). and E.D. Aklaku Department of Agricultural Engineering, KNUST, Kumasi-Ghana Abstract: Composting is not a common practice in Ghana. Government and community initiative have not survived primarily because of management, ownership and cost of operation/maintenance challenges. It is envisaged that government and municipal authorities will develop incentives to attract private and public-private partnerships to encourage recycling of biodegradable waste as compost; especially with decentralized system. Introduction: Composting is a managed treatment procedure that transforms biodegradable (organic) waste material into a soil-like substance called compost (Dougherty, 1994). Its importance serves to divert waste of organic from both agricultural and municipal sources meant for landfills to land (farm, landscape, etc). Very few composting facilities exist in Ghana, and barely operate to their designed Capacity. Consequently, biodegradation fraction of agricultural and municipal solid waste forms about 65% of waste characterized. Rockson et al (2008) reported that municipal authorities spend about 60% of their budget to collect waste. Method and Material: Visits to the composting facilities were made and structured questionnaires administer. Results and Discussion: About 65% of characterized municipal solid waste could be composted. Composting facilities that operated or are in operation to divert waste and product compost have been listed in the table below: Table 1: The quality of compost and constrains faced by such facilities is presented
Facility VREL BlueSky
AMACP

Ownership Private Private Government CBO

Cap. (t/y) ~7,800 ~4,800 ~14,400 ~150

Raw material Agro-waste, soil Agro-waste, soil, Sawdust MSW, FS MSW, FS

Method MTW MTW MBT mTW

Maturity ~2mth ~2mth ~2mth ~5mth

End-users F F,RED,H/L, H/L ,RED, LC, F H/L,RED,F

AKCPP

AMACP-Accra Metropolitan Assembly Composting Plant; A KCPP- The Ashiedu Keteke Community Participation Project; CBO - Community Based Organizations; MSW- Municipal Solid Waste; FS-Feacal Sludge; MTW-Mechanically Turned Windrow; MBT-Mechanical biological Treatment; mTWmanually (labour) Turned Windrow; F-Farms; RED-Real Estate Developers; H/L- Horticultural and Landscapes; LC- Landfill Capping

Fig1: show VREL (in operation to date) and AMACP Composting facility (out of operation to date)

Table 2: reported quality of compost product

Parameter Facilities VREL BlueSky AMACP AKCPP OM (%) 30.6 10.8 11.2 31.83 pH 8 8.2 7.4 6.6 C % 5 4.57 4.66 7.58 N % 0.24 0.41 0.27 1.08 P % 0.18 0.56 0.42 4.37 K % 0.39 0.35 0.53 0.33 Zn mg/kg 19 265.5 242.7 Cu mg/kg 36 56.4 35.3 Cd mg/kg 0.30 0.82 0.55 Cr mg/kg 14 52.6 13.7 Ni mg/kg 12.5 18.1 11.0

Parameters are reported on dry weight basis, except for pH.

At the time of conducting the survey, it was established that AMACP (Teshie Nungua) and AKCPP (James Town) were out of operation. Accounting for this was: proper management; the high cost of operation/maintenance, disagreement about ownership, and cost of transporting material. Conclusion and Recommendation: Prospects for recycling organic matter, plant nutrient as compost or an organo-mineral must be explored both by government and the private instructions; supported with attractive incentives by government to sustain such benefits. This is justified by the fact that government is already subsidising significantly waste collection, landfills and fertilizer imports. This can significantly improve food production, effective waste management. It is imperative to encourage decentralized composting. Further research on feedstock preparation, decentralized composting technologies and application of compost on agricultural will be necessary. Acknowledgement: Contact persons at VREL Ltd, BlueSky Ltd, AMACP and AKCPP composting facilities. Reference: Dougherty, M., 1994. Composting for Municipalities- Planning and Design Considerations. Northeast Regronal Agricultural Engineering Service (NRAES-94), Cooperative Extension, Ithaca. NY, USA. Rockson, G.N.K. Asase, M.A.D., Trois C., 2008. Useful recovery of biodegradable-waste in developing countries: Source separation versus mechanical biological waste pretreatment. Proc. of Water and Sanitation in International Development and Disaster Relief, Edinburgh (UK), 28-30 May 2008, 431-440