Evaluation of the organic waste situation and proposing of composting in a small municipality

Abstract

Urban solid waste (MSW) includes household waste and urban cleaning waste. The organic fraction represents more than half of the total of MSW collected in Brazil. However, only a small portion of the organic waste is treated by composting, the final destination environmentally adequate established by the National Solid Waste Policy. In the Water Resources Management Unit (UGRHI) of Pontal do Paranapanema (UGRHI-22) - São Paulo - Brazil there are no municipalities that compost the organic waste, due to different issues, mainly technical and economic. Thus, the objective of this study is to perform the diagnosis of the organic wastes generated in one of the municipalities of UGRHI-22, in the municipality of Álvares Machado, in order to evaluate the possibility of treatment of these wastes by composting. The diagnosis will evaluate three sources of organic waste: the waste generated by large generators, those generated by household generators and those generated by urban afforestation. For this, it will be carried out field work and data surveys to assess the situation of these wastes since its generation until the final disposal. Afterwards, a composting proposal will be made, in which it will be raised the investments, costs, actions for technical training and environmental education and the necessary physical and managerial structure for the composting plant. In this way, it's expected that the results can contribute to the environmentally appropriate disposal of organic waste, reducing the amount of grounded MSW and increasing the life-time of the landfill, as well as reducing environmental impacts and improving health conditions of the population resulting from the organic waste. (AU)