Composting Essay ⋆ Environment Essay Examples ⋆ EssayEmpire

This Composting Essay example is published for educational and informational purposes only. If you need a custom essay or research paper on this topic, please use our writing services. EssayEmpire.com offers reliable custom essay writing services that can help you to receive high grades and impress your professors with the quality of each essay or research paper you hand in.

Comp osting is a natural process of decomposition of organic matter (once living materials-including plant remains, plant leaves, and fruit and vegetable peels) into a dark earthy substance that can be used as an enriching garden soil or as a natural fertilizer for plants. Composting is a controlled aerobic process carried out by successive microbial populations combining mesophilic and thermophilic activities, leading to production of carbon dioxide, water, minerals, and stabilized organic matter. Composting is a natural process that has always occurred in forests, when the leaves from trees and plants fall on the forest floor and mix with the earth through a process of decay and decomposition. The living roots reclaim the nutrients from these decomposed leaves and finish the process of natural recycling. Farmers and gardeners have practiced composting since time immemorial. “Night soil,” vegetable matter, animal manure, and household garbage are placed in piles or in a pit and allowed to decompose until ready to be used as fertilizer.

Composting Nations

The main development of composting has been in India, China, southeast Asia, and east and south Africa, but in recent years there has also been much interest in mechanizing the process of composting in developed nations for treatment of waste. The potential benefits of using earthworms in composting has led to a “sub-variety” of composting, referred to as vermin-composting. This is especially recommended for composting for households. Compost plants can be classified into two broad categorieswindrow and in-vessel. Windrow systems involve the use of long heaps of material (windrows) that can be either static, or periodically turned. In the static type, the aeration is accomplished without disturbing the windrow and can be of two types: passive aeration and forced-air aeration. Turnedwindrow aeration involves the breaking down and rebuilding of a windrow. In-vessel composting is done inside reactors to accelerate the composting process through maintaining optimum conditions for microbial activity and to minimize or eliminate adverse impacts upon the ambient environment.

There are many important factors to consider when composting. Carbon and nitrogen are the two most important elements in the process. Carbon is an energy source for the microorganisms, and nitrogen is important for microbial population growth. The bacteria need this carbon and nitrogen from a balance of green (such as kitchen waste) and brown (such as leaves) sources. With favorable conditions, bacteria can multiply every five or six minutes. Oxygen and temperatures are important factors. They fluctuate because of the microbial activity, which consumes oxygen and generates heat. Aerating the compost will re-supply oxygen and carry away excess heat. This allows for what is known as aerobic composting. Another important consideration for decomposition is moisture. However, a balance must be maintained. If the pile is too wet, the oxygen supply will lessen; if there is too little water, it will result in anaerobic, or without oxygen, decomposition. This can cause odors and other by-products.

Composting presents both benefits and undesirable environmental impacts. Benefits of composting for soils and plants include improvements to soil structure by adding organic matter. In sandy soil, the compost will hold moisture and help prevent the soil from degrading. Compost particles bind with clay particulates that will improve soil structure in a heavy clay type soil by allowing surface water movement through the larger aggregates. Compost can help the soil retain water and resist surface erosion and crusting. The addition of compost to the soil can also improve soil aeration. Compost helps the soil by supplying it with necessary nutrients such as phosphorus, calcium, nitrogen, and trace elements. Some chemical fertilizers release nutrients and mineral elements at such a fast rate that it is not possible for plants to benefit from it. Use of compost provides a slower, more sustained release of nitrogen and phosphorus, which conserves them for plants throughout the growing season.

On the other hand, there are several potential environmental impacts. One of the main problems with composting is the offensive odor from anaerobic composting. The offensive smell does not become a health hazard up to a certain level (there is no standard for this intensity level), but the main sufferers are the residents near the composting sites. Air emissions are also generated during waste collection and transport, as well as carbon dioxide from the process of composting.

When the composting turns anaerobic, methane gas is also produced. Microbes are also transported out of the pile by dust. Runoff is a problem mainly during rainy seasons. Waste in compost can attract rodents and flies. It is also a breeding ground for mosquitoes, which spread some illnesses. Finally, when compost is applied to soil, it decomposes and sometimes releases some unwanted and potentially hazardous elements like cadmium, chromium, lead, mercury, nickel, and zinc.

Bibliography:

F.L. Diaz, et , Solid Waste Management for Economically Developing Countries (ISWA,1996);
Clare Foster, Compost (Cassell, 2002);
V.I. Grover, “Solid Waste Management, A Case Study of Delhi,” Doctoral Thesis;
T.L. Richard, “MSW Composting Fact Sheet 2: Biological Processing,” Cornell Composting Resources (Cornell Waste Management Institute, 1993).