Feasibility study of pilot scale vegetable waste composting project for Kundasang community’s waste management program

Noorafizah, Murshid and Abu Zahrim, Yaser and Mariani, Rajin and Sariah, Saalah and Junidah, Lamaming and Mariana, Taliban (2024) Feasibility study of pilot scale vegetable waste composting project for Kundasang community’s waste management program. International Journal of Recycling of Organic Waste in Agriculture (IJROWA), 13 (3). pp. 1-12. ISSN 2251-7715

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Abstract

Purpose: Vegetable waste (VW) composting was assessed using a passive aerated pilot-scale composter at Kundasang, Sabah. The passive aerated composting system proposed at Kundasang Community Composting Site (KCCS) was analyzed for its techno-economic impact. Method: The composting performance (temperature, organic matter loss, moisture content, pH value, electrical conductivity, and nutrient value) of 500 ± 2 kg of VW, 250 ± 2 kg of RH, and 19 ± 1 kg of CM feedstock mixture was analyzed. The benefit-to-cost ratio was used to assess the impact of the technoeconomic analysis on the designed and piloted KCCS. Results: In the pilot scale composting condition, temperature reached its highest at 59 ± 7 ◦C (day 5) and for five consecutive days (day 2 until day 6) in the thermophilic phase. Results of the final compost (on a dry matter basis) showed that the moisture content is 62 ± 0.2% WM, the pH level is 7.6 ± 0.1, the electrical conductivity is 1.8 ± 0.4 mS/cm, and the N, P, and K values are 0.58 ± 0.10% DM, 0.04 ± 0.02% DM, and 0.17 ± 0.04% DM, respectively. The techno-economic analysis shows that with the capital cost normalized on a 20-year basis, the KCCS composter system can generate approximately MYR 25, 000 (USD 5, 600) per year in revenue. Conclusion: The results show that these composting methods are suitable for VW and Kundasang community conditions, and this study will benefit the community in dealing with VW waste and generating a circular economy while establishing a self-sustaining communit

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