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Composting has become a preferable option to treat organic wastes to obtain a final stable sanitized product that can be used as an organic amendment. From home composting to big municipal waste treatment plants, composting is one of the few technologies that can be practically implemented at any scale. This review explores some of the essential issues in the field of composting/compost research: on one hand, the main parameters related to composting performance are compiled, with especial emphasis on the maturity and stability of compost; on the other hand, the main rules of applying compost on crops and other applications are explored in detail, including all the effects that compost can have on agricultural land. Especial attention is paid to aspects such as the improvement of the fertility of soils once compost is applied, the suppressor effect of compost and some negative experiences of massive compost application.

A adoção de listas de medicamentos essenciais, compostas por produtos selecionados, é uma das estratégias para seu uso racional. Neste estudo, objetivou-se analisar o elenco de fármacos da Relação Nacional de Medicamentos Essenciais (Rename) do ano de 2013 quanto aos critérios de essencialidade e de racionalidade. O conjunto de fármacos da Rename foi comparado à 18ª lista modelo de medicamentos essenciais (EML) da Organização Mundial da Saúde (OMS) para a verificação de sua essencialidade. Os fármacos presentes na Rename, mas inexistentes na EML, foram avaliados quanto à racionalidade utilizando-se a classificação descrita em La revue Prescrire para detectar aqueles sem valor terapêutico agregado. Detectou-se que a Rename possui 413 fármacos, dos quais 190 não constam na EML e 63 não apresentam valor terapêutico agregado. Além disso, foram identificadas discrepâncias entre as recomendações da OMS e a seleção de fármacos da Rename. Fármacos não essenciais e sem valor terapêutico agregado não deveriam constar em uma lista de medicamentos financiada pelos três entes federativos.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi desenvolver uma barra móvel de irrigação semiautomática para ser usada em casa de vegetação e, ou ambiente protegido. A barra de irrigação foi montada no interior de uma casa de vegetação retangular na área experimental do Departamento de Engenharia de Biossistemas da Escola Superior de Agricultura “Luiz de Queiroz”, LEB/ESALQ – USP, Piracicaba, SP. O mecanismo de guia e sustentação da barra de irrigação foi composto por dois trilhos metálicos dispostos horizontalmente e longitudinalmente em cada lateral, a uma altura de 2,00 m, distanciados entre si de 6,30 m. A tração da barra foi feita por um motor elétrico trifásico com um redutor de 1:800. A barra foi composta por 2 linhas (tubos) de PVC rígido, com diâmetro de 3/4 de polegada e comprimento de 4 m. Cada linha de irrigação continha dois bicos tipo “leque”, com vazão nominal de 1,8927 x 10-5 m3 s-1 com pressão de serviço de 275 kPa. A automatização do sistema de irrigação foi realizada com um inversor de frequência em um painel de comando com acionamento manual, porém com desligamento automático. O sistema de irrigação foi avaliado em duas etapas, para determinação da uniformidade de aplicação das lâminas de irrigação. Considerando a necessidade cada vez maior de aproveitamento da casa de vegetação, menores lâminas e maior eficiência na aplicação de água, o sistema mostrou-se adequado, aplicando lâminas de 2,826 a 1,015 mm.

PurposeBio-based recycling systems and agricultural production using recycled materials are often evaluated separately. This study performs an environmental and socio-economic life cycle assessment (LCA) of a food waste treatment and spinach farming system in Japan. The environmental and economic tradeoffs of introducing a recycling system and the net environmental benefit of the substitution of market fertilizer considering operation changes are also examined.MethodsThree scenarios were developed and compared. In the conventional (CV) scenario, food waste is collected, incinerated, and disposed of in landfill, and the farmer uses market organic fertilizer. The on-site composting (OC) scenario processes food waste using an on-site garbage disposer and transports compost to a nearby spinach farmer. Food waste in the centralized composting (CC) scenario is transported to a centralized composting facility and resultant compost is sent to the farm. Primary data were obtained from field experiments and interviews. Non-greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the field and nitrogen leaching to water systems were simulated using the denitrification–decomposition (DNDC) model.The environmental LCA targeted climate change, eutrophication, and waste landfill. An input–output analysis estimated socio-economic indicators, namely gross added value and employment inducement effect.Results and discussionThe scenario with the lowest impact is the CC scenario. Climate change and eutrophication impacts are highest in the OC scenario and waste landfill impacts are most significant in the CV scenario. The weighted impact by LIME2 can be reduced by 47% in the CC scenario and 17% in the OC scenario due to the recycling of food waste instead of dumping in the landfill. The difference in socio-economic indicators between the scenarios was relatively small, although the CV scenario encouraged more employment. The substitution effect of composting, as well as the environmental impact reduction of replacing market organic fertilizer with compost, will result in 28.7% of the avoided impacts in GHG emissions.ConclusionsBoth composting scenarios are feasible from an environmental and socio-economic perspective when compared with conventional organic production, although there is a tradeoff between waste landfill and GHG emissions for the on-site composting system. However, the OC scenario needs to save electricity to improve its environmental competitiveness with the CV scenario. When considering the substitution effect of composting, it is recommended to take into account that agricultural operation also changes.

Italy is among the top biowaste-generating countries in Europe, and has a well-structured waste management framework with quite a number of centralized composting facilities. In recent years, there has also been huge interest from local communities in decentralized composting. Although decentralized community composting is common in some countries, there is still a lack of information on the operative environment together with its potential logistical, environmental, economic, and social impacts. Considering the national Italian legislation on community composting as well as successfully implemented projects at EU level, Italy can set a model especially for Mediterranean countries that intend to build decentralized composting programs. Therefore, in the context of this review paper, a brief overview of the composting process was presented together with main applications in centralized and especially in decentralized composting, while the main focus was kept on the operative and legislative information gathered from Italian community composting. There is a huge difference in the number of composting plants between the regions, and the lack of centralized facilities in the central and southern regions can be supported by decentralized solutions. Decentralizing waste treatment facilities and thus creating local solutions to urban waste management strategies will help to achieve the resource recovery and valorization targets in line with the circular economy.

Introduction Composting, otherwise known as green waste recycling, is a growing industrial sector. Whilst the environmental benefits of recycling activities are well-established, there is currently only a limited understanding of the potential adverse health effects of exposure to occupational hazards such as bioaerosols. It is thought that bioaerosol exposure may induce or exacerbate respiratory illness, but little is known about which components are responsible or which workers are most vulnerable. Methods A cross-sectional study examining the prevalence of respiratory symptoms in the UK industrial composting workforce was undertaken. Exposure studies were conducted at one indoor and one outdoor site to examine total microbial and fungal counts, as well as thermophilic bacteria and fungi present during agitative composting activities. A health questionnaire was subsequently administered to a volunteer sample of compost workers across six companies, who were also tested by skin prick test and blood for sensitisation to bioaerosol components and common aeroallergens. The questionnaire was evaluated using a principal component analysis (PCA). Results Exposure measurements confirmed the sites were ones in which workers had bioaerosol exposure consistent with that observed previously in the industry. Workers reported symptoms including rhinitis, conjunctivitis, cough, wheeze and shortness of breath. Workers with more than 10 years in the industry had a higher prevalence of ocular irritation. No differences were seen according to site type (indoor/outdoor), Aspergillus sensitisation status, or whether workers were mono or polysensitised by IgE to any of the aeroallergens tested in the study. The PCA condensed the questionnaire from 46 to 37 items. Conclusion The higher prevalence of ocular symptoms in those workers having been in the industry for more than 10 years is of concern for which the implications merit further study. These include the progression to clinical disease affecting the lower airways and wider systemic disease. Findings from this study do not suggest that those workers sensitised to Aspergillus fumigatus or other aeroallergens reported more symptoms, but further inferences are limited by the cross-sectional design.

This study investigated the effect of locally available bulking agents on the faecal sludge (FS) composting process and quality of the final FS compost. Dewatered FS was mixed with sawdust, coffee husk and brewery waste, and composted on a pilot scale. The evolution of physical and chemical characteristics of the composting materials was monitored weekly. Results indicate that bulking agents have a statistically significant effect (p < 0.0001) on the evolution of composting temperatures, pH, electrical conductivity, nitrogen forms, organic matter mineralisation, total organic carbon, maturity indices, quality of the final compost and composting periods during FS composting. Our results suggest reliable maturity indices for mature and stable FS compost. From the resource recovery perspective, this study suggests sawdust as a suitable bulking agent for co-composting with FS—as it significantly reduced the organic matter losses and nitrogen losses (to 2.2%), and improved the plant growth index, thus improving the agronomic values of the final compost as a soil conditioner. FS co-composting can be considered a sustainable and decentralised treatment option for FS and other organic wastes in the rural and peri-urban communities, especially, where there is a strong practice of reusing organic waste in agriculture.

Holly Meno, LVT Chesterfield, Michigan Reduce fecal fumes with a compost bin Our lab area can get pretty stinky when fecal samples sit out on the counter, waiting to be read or to be packaged for the off-site laboratory.

Malaysians generate 15,000 tons of food waste per day and dispose of it in the landfill, contributing to greenhouse gas emissions. As a solution for the stated problem, this research aims to produce an excellent quality bokashi compost from household organic waste using a smart composting bin. The bokashi composting method is conducted, whereby banana peels are composted with three types of bokashi brans prepared using 12, 22, and 32 mL of EM-1 mother cultured. During the 14 days composting process, the smart composting bin collected the temperature, air humidity, and moisture content produced by the bokashi-composting process. With the ATmega328 microcontroller, these data were uploaded and synchronized to Google Sheet via WIFI. After the bokashi-composting process was completed, three of each bokashi compost and a control sample were buried in separate black soil for three weeks to determine each compost’s effectiveness. NPK values and the C/N ratio were analyzed on the soil compost. From the research, 12 mL of EM-1 shows the most effective ratio to the bokashi composting, as it resulted in a faster decomposition rate and has an optimum C/N ratio. Bokashi composting can help to reduce household food wastes. An optimum amount of the EM-1 used during the bokashi-composting process will produce good quality soil without contributing to environmental issues.

[...]I thought we would be safe from big, bad giants. [...]cow manure is in no way disgusting.