Top Sheet

Sustainable Waste Management

Sustainable WasteManagement
Editor

Dr.SadhanKGhosh
Coordinator,CentreforQualityManagementSystem JadavpurUniversity, President,InternationalSocietyofWasteManagement,AirandWater,Kolkata,India

AssociateEditors
Dr.RainerStegmann,Professor, Hamburg University of Technology, Germany
Chair, International Waste Working Group, Padova, Italy

Dr.JonathanWong,Director, Sino-Forest Applied Research Centre for Pearl River Delta Environment
Professor, Department of Biology, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong SAR, P R China

JeffryC.Muffat, President, Air & Waste Management Association and

Manager for Environmental Regulatory Affairs at 3M, United States

Dr.P. Agamuthu, Professor, Solid Waste Management,

Institute of Biological Sciences, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Dr.WangJingYuan, Asso. Professor and Director, RRRC,

School of Civil & Env Engg, Nanyang Tech University, Singapore

By
CentreforQualityManagementSystem, JadavpurUniversity & InternationalSocietyofWasteManagement,AirandWater Proceedingofthe2ndInternationalConferenceonSolidWasteManagement November0911,2011,Kolkata

OxfordPublishingHouse Kolkata

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2011,OxfordPublishingHouse Nopart of this publicationcan be reproduced in any from orbyany means without the priorWrittenPermissionofthepublisher. Duecarehasbeentakento ensurethattheinformationprovided inthisbookis correct. However, the editor and publisher bear no responsibility for any damage resulting from any inadvertent omission or inaccuracy in the book. The author/s is / are held responsibleforthecontentsinthesame. This edition can be exported only by the publishers, Oxford Publishing Housing or its authorisedrepresentatives.

CentreforQualityManagementSystem JadavpurUniversity,BlueEarthW/S,Kolkata700032 Website:www.iconswm.com/www.iswmaw.com www.jadavpur.edu E.Mail.iswmaw@gmail.com/training.cqmsju@yahoo.co.in

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PREFACE

Waste management in the globe is the very important issue to have sustaibnable resource management. The consumption patter has reached to a very high level in certain countries where as some countries are prone to poverty all the time. The imballancnce in socio economic condition amongst the countries raise debate while implementing global schemes and treaties for protection of environment. But the nature and the environment will not be able to wait for resolving the debates in the world. The environment will be affected due to our debate and in turn we all are affected. Traditionally most of the countries who are in the stage of developing or underdeveoloed countries have a culture of recycle and reuse of material in the house holds. In India from the very ancient age, the innovative ideas of recycling and reuse of materials for sustainable resource consumption has been encouraged and practiced in the country. The socio economic condition of India does not permit the citizen to sustain a high level of consumption pattern in comparison to the developed countries. But the municipal solid waste did not get much attention. Traditionally municipal solid wastes are dumped either on roadside or in open ground and in some times filling of low land and water bodies. There was a tradition of using the vegetable and kitchen wastes for preparation of manure. Traditionally Cow dung is used as manure and fuel for decades in rural India. C&D Wastes have also been reused and some times recycled by 50 % of the wastes generated. Plastics wastes in municipal stream are a nuisance for last couple of decades. Social and economic factors play a pivotal role in developing comprehensive policies. These policies are starting to become global and a highly integrated global economy will have effects on how we manage our hazardous wastes. In recent past for last decade, due to several global and local issues for the protection of environment, focus has been given on the municipal solid wastes. It has now been realized that the waste generated in different forms have value which may be converted into usable products even in the form of energy recovery. Waste management rule in India was enacted in the year 2000 with some amendment. Recently in 2008 the hazardous waste rule has been enacted. Many of the urban local bodies do not have nor either implemented or initiated effective SWM. Government has released tied funds for the purpose in last decade and has planned for the next five year plan. Many foreign countries are now showing interest in putting up their business for SWM in India. Solid Waste management in India has just started its journey towards sustainable resource management. It is a movement in India. To move forwards, some of the salient features have to be implemented carefully soon, Capacity building in ULBs in respective areas, Building in depth understanding on SWM to the city managers including elected representatives, Solving land allocation problems, Developing effective service providers and their motivation. The terms and conditions with the service providers have to be thoroughly understood by the city managers for sustainable operation of SWM, Encourage PPP model implementation at reasonable sustainable terms, Overall change of legislation on Municipal Waste Management, Encouragement in using bio fertilizer and compost, Standardization of the quality of compost and release of standard by BIS, and Encourage Research and Innovation on SWM and technologies. The conference will discuss on many issues on SWM. There are valuable 132 technical papers in the proceedings which will enrich the knowledge of implementers and resecarchers. I thank the reviewers of the papers, associate editors and the authors who contributed effectively for the publication of this book ontime. I thank all the delegates from foreign countries and India, sponsors, exhibitors, organizing partners and the organizing committee members awho added value to the conference. This volume on Sudstainable Waste Management focused on implementation and best practices will definitely be of great help to the urban local bodies, researchers and related industries. 9th November, 2011 Kolkata Prof. Sadhan K Ghosh Editor

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Sustainable Waste Management (2011) 337 - 345 International Society of Waste Management, Air and Water

Waste Management
Homepage:www.iswmaw.com&iconswm.org

IconSWM

An Effective Road Map Through Resource Recovery Output Approach for Municipality Solid Waste Management A Success Story from North Barrackpore & Garulia Municipalities, North 24 Parganas, West Bengal, India
R. Bera1, A. Datta 1, S. Saha1, A.K Dolui2, A.K Chatterjee3, R.K Sarkar 4, D. Majumdar5, P. Bhattacharyya6, A. Seal 1,*
1 2

Inhana Organic Research Foundation, Kolkata, India Dept. of Soil Science, Calcutta University, India 3 Dept. of Soil Science, Visva Bharati University, India 4 Dept. of Agronomy, Calcutta University, India 5 Dept. of Agricultural Statistics, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, India 6 Dept. of Environmental Science, University of California, Riverside, USA *Corresponding Author

ABSTRACT A conscious effort has been initiated by North Barrackpore municipality in coordination with Garulia municipality for management of municipality solid waste, under Waste to Wealth Programme during 2010-2011. A new biodegradation method called Novcom composting method of Inhana Biosciences (R & D Organization based in Kolkata, India), which is being widely practiced in several certified organic tea estates of Darjeeling and Assam for production of more than 8000 tons annually, was adopted for achieving the objectivity. A pilot scale study was done in the year 2010 and after successful completion of the study, large scale composting activity was initiated in April, 2011. Under the composting process, segregated municipality solid waste and cow dung were used in 90:10 ratio and final compost was ready in 30 days after two turning on 10th and 20th day. At present 20 to 25 % of the waste dumped at the landfill site are taken for the Waste to Wealth Programme and about 18 to 20 ton compost are being generated every month and packed in 5, 10 and 50 kg bags for commercial purpose. One sample/20 ton of raw material, 10th and 20 th day samples and final compost (30th day) were regularly collected for the analysis of physicochemical properties, fertility status, microbial potential, stability and maturity/ phytotoxicity parameters. During the composting process high temperature generated (> 650 C) within compost heap for more than three consecutive days ensured the absence of any pathogenic microorganisms, larva of house fly and other insects. Final compost samples were found to be porous, light weight, darkish brown in colour with earthy smell. Presence of earthworm in the final compost heap also indicated completion of biodegradation process and absence of any toxic environment. As per the analysis report, final compost samples were stable (CO2 evolution rate 2.14 mgCO2 C/g OM/day), mature and free from any phytotoxic effect (germination index varied within 0.80 0.91). Nutrient content (mean N, P and K status) of the final compost samples were 1.36, 0.76 and 0.68 percent respectively with moderately low C : N ratio (ranged from 13:1 to 16:1) and high microbial population in terms of total bacteria, fungi and actinomycetes (in the order 12 16 of 10 to 10 c.f.u.). Total heavy metal content i.e. As, Pb, Cd, Ni, Zn and Cu in the final sample was also well within the maximum permissible limit indicating Novcom composting method as a suitable option for generation of good quality compost for agricultural use utilizing municipality solid waste. KeyWords: Novcom composting method, municipality solid waste, stability, phytotoxicity. 2011 Oxford Publishing House. All Rights Reserved.

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1.0 Introduction The management of municipality solid waste (MSW) is an area of concern for both the developed and developing countries. Goethe said in the 19th century let every one sweep in front of his house and the world will be clean. This is relevant even for 21st century but we have run out of backyard space for solid waste disposal. In India it is a major problem in cities and towns with the urban areas producing about 40 million tons of solid waste from household and commercial activities every year (Joseph, 2007). Increasing levels of municipal solid waste (MSW) has long posed serious threat to local environmental quality and human health (NEERI 1994; CPCB, 2000; UN 2000). Majority (more than 90%) of these wastes are used for unscientific land filling or uncontrolled dumping in the outskirts of towns and cities, which have serious environmental implications (through green-house gas emission) in terms of global warming (Sharholy et al. , 2008; Narayana, 2009). When not managed adequately, solid waste also generates several public health and environmental hazards. Land application of municipal solid waste (MSW) compost could be one of the most economical and attractive methods of solving two problems; i.e. waste disposal and the necessity to increase the organic matter content of soil (Gautam et al., 2010). However, phytotoxicity of MSW compost in various degrees of maturity has been extensively reported (Gautam et al. , 2010). Hence, safety, stability and maturity of MSW compost should be necessarily ensured before any agricultural use as also reported by Mathur et al., 1993). In India the vast agricultural lands are excellent sites for beneficially using MSW as an organic soil amendment (Elfving, 1981), however; most of the MSW is dumped and only a fraction (less than 10%) is intermittently processed in mechanical compost plants (Shekdar, 1999). Presently, a very small part (89%) of the MSW generated is used for compost production by various public or private enterprises. Lack of commercial viability of compost plants is primarily due to the absence of effective and economical composting technology (Das et al., 2008) as well as routine standard for rapidly evaluating final product quality. North Barrackpore and Garulia Municipalities of 24 Parganas (North) district of West Bengal, were facing similar bottleneck towards effective management of the waste load. After failure of the previous composting venture they tried out a new composting process called Novcom Composting Method. Once the initial pilot project was successful, they ventured into a large scale initiative. The present study was taken up to scientifically document the entire exercise and evaluate the compost quality produced under Novcom composting method, in terms of agricultural use. 2.0 Materials and Methods 2.1 MSW Management Activity in North Barrackpore and Garulia Municipality Municipality solid waste management under Waste to wealth programme was initiated in the year 2006-07 with the funding from JNNURM and the infrastructure required for a modern landfill site covering 16 acre was completed in 2007-08. However, due to lack of proper composting technology, successful bio-conversion of waste was not possible until adoption of Novcom composting method in the year 2010. At the beginning, a pilot scale study was initiated in the month of October, 2010 during which detailed analysis of raw materials and final compost samples were done. The convenient composting method along with production of good quality end product propelled the initiation of large scale composting activity during April, 2011. During the past five months post initiation about 620 tons of MSW were taken under the composting programme, which was about 20 to 25 percent of total MSW dumped at the landfill site. After segregation of non-biodegradable parts, the waste was composed in heaps. About 18 to 20 ton compost is generated every month and is packed in 5, 10 and 50 kg bags for commercial purpose (Picture 2). About 20 percent of the produce has already been marketed for use in agricultural field of nearby villages by the common farmers. 2.2 Steps of Municipality Solid Waste Composting Using Novcom Composting Method 2.2.1 Raw Materials The MSW used for composting is a heterogeneous mixture of different waste materials comprising about 40 to 50 percent biodegradable part the rest being non-biodegradable/hazardous toxic material (Table 1).

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Table 1: Composition of raw MSW used for composting at landfill site of North Barrackpore and Garulia Municipality.
Component Food waste Agricultural waste wood Green coconut shell Stone and brick Percent (Approx. Component by wt.) 20 to Ash and earth 25 % 24 to Plastic 30 % /electronics items 3 to 4 Paper, Cloths, % rubber etc 4 to 6 Metal % 10 to Others 16 % Percent (Approx. by wt.) 8 to 12 % 4 to 6 % 3 to 5% 2 to 3 % 6 to 8 %

thoroughly sprinkled with diluted Novcom solution (5 ml/ litre water). A layer of cow dung, 1 to 2 inches in thickness, was made over the 1st layer and the cow dung layer was again followed by a second layer (1 ft-1.5 ft high) of MSW. The layer was again sprinkled with diluted Novcom solution (5 ml/ litre water) and the process was repeated till the heap attained a height of about 5.5 ft. The top most layer of the heap remained of MSW. The heap was made compact by pressing downwards from top and inward from the sides. Activity on Day 10 : The Novcom heap was demolished, upturned, mixed properly and thoroughly moistened by spraying Novcom solution (5 ml/ litre water). The volume of the partially decomposed composting material decreased due to progress in decomposition. However, by adjusting the surface area, height of Novcom composting heap was maintained at about 5.25 ft. The heap was made compact as before. Activity on Day 20 : The process was repeated as on day 10 and the composting material was again moistened by spraying Novcom solution (5 ml/ litre water). Height of Novcom heap was maintained at 5.0 ft. by adjusting surface area and the heap was made compact as before.

2.2.2 Quantity of Raw Materials required for making a Novcom Compost Heap There is absolute flexibility in terms of the quantity of raw materials that can be used for erection of Novcom compost heap. The compost heap can be of different length and breadth. However, at North Barrackpore and Garulia Municipality, for convenience purpose, 4 tons of MSW and 500 kg of fresh cow dung were used for erection of a single Novcom composting heap of dimension 8 ft. (length) x 6 ft. (breadth) x 5.5 ft. (height). 2.2.3 Novcom (MSW) Solution Novcom (MSW) solution is a research product of Inhana Biosciences, (R&D organization based in Kolkata, India). The solution contains biologically activated and potentized extract of Bambusa bambos Druc, Sida cordifolia L. and Ocimum bascilicum. 2.2.4 Role of Cowdung in Novcom composting method Cow dung @ 20 % is recommended under Novcom method as the best receptor of solar energy and not as a source of nutrient. In case of scarcity, the amount can be reduced up to 10 % or in case of extreme scarcity, cow dung slurry can be used. 2.2.5 Steps of MSW Novcom Composting Programme Activity on Day 1 : At the selected, flat upland, MSW was spread to make the base layer of heap, measuring about 8 ft. in length, 6ft. in breadth and 1 ft. 1. 5 ft. in thickness. The layer w as

Picture 1: Mature Novcom MSW compost heaps and sieving of final compost before packing in different bag size.
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Activity on Day 30 : Composting process is complete and the material thereafter is taken into the processing site. There it is run through a sieving machine having different mesh size. Here the compost is separated into finer particle size to make this convenient for application. Then the finer material goes for bagging and the large particle fractions are given another treatment with Novcom (MSW) solution (Picture 1). 2.3 Research Methodology Physicochemical properties of compost viz. moisture content, pH, electrical conductivity, organic carbon, total ash content and total volatile solids were analyzed according to the procedure of Trautmann and Krasny (1997). Total N, P and K content in compost was determined by acid digestion method (Jackson, 1973). Estimation of bacteria, fungi and actinomycetes were done using Thorntons media, Martins media and Jensens media respectively according to procedure outlined by Black (1965). Stability test of compost (viz. CO 2 evolution rate and phytotoxicity bioassay test) were performed according to the procedure suggested by Trautmann and Krasny (1997). Wheat (Triticum aestivum) as test seed was used for phytotoxicity bioassay test. Total heavy metals viz. As, Pb, Cd, Ni, Zn and Cu were done per standard procedure (Black, 1965). Statistical Analysis in terms of standard error (S.E.) was performed with SPSS software (version 7.2).

3.0 Results and Discussions Physical changes were observed and temperature (measured at 1.5 ft depth from the outer surface of the composting heap) record of compost heap was maintained on regular basis, to assess the speed of the biodegradation as well as for identification of the compost maturity stage. 3.1 Physical changes biodegradation process. observed during

After erection of MSW composting heaps using Novcom solution, the first change observed within 48 hours was the minimization of foul odour and flies around the heaps. The observation indicated initiation of aerobic biodegradation process within the heap, because once aerobic conditions are established, the bacteria will eat the odorous compounds (Cooperband, 2002). Temperature of compost heaps were also found to increase and recorded more than 600C 72 hours onwards after erection of heaps. On the 30th day i.e. after completion of the composting process, the compost samples were visually more light weight and porous, darkish brown in colour with earthy smell which is necessary for mature compost, as suggested by Epstein (1997). Presence of earthworm in the final compost heap also indicated completion of biodegradation process and absence of any toxic environment. 3.2 Variation in temperature biodegradation process. during

Picture 2: Ready to use Novcom MSW compost in 5, 10 and 50 kg packs.

Generation of temperature within composting heaps under aerobic composting process indicated the activity of good non pathogenic organisms. This is of special relevance where MSW is used as raw materials, since it is one of the potential sources of deadly human pathogens of different nature (Deportes et al, 1998). The temperature variation curve (Fig. 1) showed that there was steady rise of temperature within composting heap from day 2, which reached the peak (70.00 C) on 5th day. The steep rise of temperature indicated initiation of prolific microbial activity (de Bertoldi et al., 1983), which might be under the influence of energized Novcom solution. Maintenance of a stable temperature of more than 1450F (> 62.8 0C) within the compost heap, for more than three consecutive days has been found w hich is effective for destruction of most of the human pathogens, insect larvae and weed seeds within the com post heap (Rynk et al . , 1992). Af ter restructuring of heap on 10 th day, again the temperature rose steadily to approximately 610 C
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but the average temperature rise between 1st turning (10th day) and 2nd turning (20th day) was lower than the initially recorded data. After 2nd turning i.e. on 20th day, steady rise of temperature was again noted but once again the average temperature variation during this quarter (21st day to 30th day) was lower than the previously recorded (before and after 1st turning) data. After 27th day the temperature within the composting heap was below 450C and the temperature curve was almost parallel to X axis, which confirmed the completion of composting process or simultaneously compost maturity (Tchobanglous, 1977).

gradually from 58.34 % at day 10 of composting to 48.72 % at completion. A significant change in the per cent moisture during composting might be due to the structural breakdown of organic material. Moisture per cent recorded on days 10, 20 and 30 of composting suggested its conduciveness for (Table 2) biodegradation, and the pH of the compost sample increased with the progression of biodegradation, which may be due to volatilization loss of organic acids due to increase in temperature with progress in composting (Fang and Wong 1999). Electrical conductivity values increased with progress in biodegradation, which might be due to an increase in salt concentration following degradation of organic matter (Campbell et al. 1997).

Polynomialtrendline

75 70 65 60 55 50 45 40 35 30 25 20

y = -0.01x6 + 0.00x5 - 0.03x4 + 0.66x3 - 7.17x2 + 35.97x + 2.14 R = 0.61

2

Day1

Day4

10

Day14 Day 10 (After Turning)

15

Day19

20

Day22 Day28 Day30 25 30 Day 20 (After Turning) Day 20 (Be fore Turning)

35

Day 10 (Be fore Turning)

Days>

Fig. 1: Temperature variation within the Novcom MSW compost heaps during the biodegradation process. Table 2. Changes in compost parameters at different stages of biodegradation
Parameters Moisture (%) pH (H 2O) EC (dSm-1) Ash Content (%) Organic carbon (%) Total N (%) Novcom Treated Municipality Solid Waste Age of the compost samples Raw Materials 10th Day 20th Day 30 th Day Physico-chemical properties and nutrient status 30.45 58.34 54.70 48.72 6.64 5.35 6.10 7.64 1.41 1.50 1.65 1.90 47.04 55.50 61.77 64.08 29.42 24.72 21.24 19.96 0.84 1.02 1.14 1.36
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Novcom Treated Municipality Solid Waste Age of the compost samples Raw Materials 10th Day 20th Day Physico-chemical properties and nutrient status Total P2O 5 (%) 0.38 0.45 0.62 Total K2O (%) 0.40 0.53 0.63 C:N 35 : 1 24 : 1 19 : 1 Compost Mineralization Index 1.60 2.25 2.91 Microbial parameters (c.f.u. per gm moist compost) Total bacterial count 39 x 106 69 x 1014 39 x 10 16 Total fungal count 20 x 104 19 x 1012 28 x 10 14 3 10 Total actinomycetes count 11 x 10 6 x 10 4.2 x 1012 Stability parameters CO2 evolution rate 3.42 10.42 6.26 (mgCO2 C/g OM/day) Parameters

30 th Day 0.76 0.68 14 : 1 3.21 28 x 1016 13 x 1014 6.4 x 1012 2.14

Variation in organic matter content in 10th, 20th and 30th day compost samples indicated the speed of biodegradation during composting (DellAbate et al. 2000; Mondini et al. 2006). The change in organic carbon content from 29.42% in raw material to 19.96% in the final compost (i.e. on day 30 of composting) indicated faster biodegradation and simultaneously pointed to compost maturity within a short time frame. The total nitrogen content in the compost sample increased from 0.84 to 1.36 % during the biodegradation process (days 0 to 30) which might be due to fixation of atmospheric N within the compost heap by the autotrophic micro organisms generated during the composting process (de Bertoldi et al. 1983). The change in the C:N ratio of the composting material was considered in terms of stability (Bishop and Godfrey 1983). This compost samples also met the additional criteria for compost stability, i.e. C:N ratio of <20 and C:Nfinal/C:Ninitial ratio <0.75 (Jimenez and Garcia 1989), confirming that it attained maturity within 30 days. The C:N ratio of the day 30 compost samples ranged between 13:1 to 16 :1, which is within the reference range of 20:1 (Fertiliser Association of India, 2007) suggested for well-matured compost. The compost mineralization index expressed as ash content/oxidizable carbon (Rekha et al. 2005) increased from 1.60 in raw material to 3.21 in final compost samples indicated enhancement of mineralization potential with biodegradation. The self generated microbial populations within compost heaps are the key players, which controls the entire biodegradation process. Lynch and Wood (1985) observed that the microbial flora built up rapidly with composting initiation and, in the case of the Novcom composting process, the population of total bacteria, fungi and actinomycetes built up in an exponential manner. It has been established that the diversity of micro organisms contributing to organic matter decomposition changes with composting

progresses (Nakasaki et al. 2005). The total count for bacteria, fungi and actinomycetes in cfu g-1 moist compost sample increased from 39 x 106, 20 x 104 and 11 x 103 on day 0 to 69 x 1014, 19 x 1012 and 6 x 1010, respectively, on day 10. Such high microbial generation could be possible only because of generation of an ideal micro-atmosphere within the compost heap influenced by application of Novcom solution. In day 30 compost, the sample average populations of bacteria, fungi and actinomycetes were 28 x 1016, 13 x 1014 and 6.4 x 1012 cfu g-1 moist compost sample, respectively. However, among the methods used to evaluate compost stability, respirometric techniques based on CO 2 production are more widely accepted (Francou et al. 2005). Mean respiration rate (CO2 evolution) in the day 30 Novcom compost sample was 2.14 mg CO 2-C g-1OM day-1, well within the stipulated range (25 CO 2-C g-1OM day-1) proposed for stable compost by Trautmann and Krasny (1997). 3.4 Quality of the final compost Qualitative evaluation of compost was done for assessment of the potential of the composting method towards production of high quality and mature compost. Under this study, compost samples collected on the 30th day of composting were analyzed for physicochemical, microbial, stability and maturity/ phytotoxicity parameters (Table 3). 3.4.1 Physicochemical parameters of compost Average moisture content varied from 43.40 to 54.20 percent, which was conducive for microbial proliferation (Rahman, 1993).pH value of the compost samples ranged between 7.31 to 8.18 with mean .64, which was well within the stipulated range for good quality and mature compost (Jime`nez and Garcia, 1989).
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Electrical conductivity value of the compost samples ranged between 1.54 2.46 with mean 1.90, indicating its high nutrient status at the same time being safely below (< 4.0) the stipulated range for saline toxicity (Evanylo, 2006) with few exceptions. Organic carbon content in the final compost samples ranged between 17.51 to 23.20 percent with mean value of 19.96 which was well within the standard reference range (16 to 38 percent) as suggested by Evanylo, (2006). 3.4.2 Nutrient content & microbial status of Compost The total nitrogen content in the compost samples ranged between 1.22 to 1.61 percent, which was well above the Indian Standard (FAI, 2007) of 0.5 percent as well as and average value obtained for MSW (Average 0.63 percent) compost produced in different cities of India (Saha et al, 2010).

Mean value of total phosphate (0.76 percent) were also higher than the minimum suggested standard of 0.22 percent (FAI, 2007) where as mean potash percent (0.68 percent) is slightly lower than FAI standard ( 0.83 percent) which might be due to low potash content (mean 0.40 percent) in the raw materials. However, the value was once again well above the average status as recorded in general for MSW compost (Average 0.46 percent) produced in different cities in India (Saha et al, 2010). In open-air composting processes, colonization of microbes in compost material occurs naturally during heap construction as well as turning of heap (Wallace et al., 2004). Total count of bacteria, fungi and actinomycetes in final compost samples varied in between (18 60) x 1016, (10 24) x 1014 and (7 18) x 1012 c.f.u. respectively in final compost indicated its high quality and post soil effectivity potential.

Table 3 : Analysis of Novcom treated municipality solid waste compost samples.

Novcom Treated Municipality Solid Waste Final Compost Sample Range Value Mean Std. Error Physico-chemical properties and nutrient status Moisture (%) 43.40 54.20 48.72 1.04 pH (H2O) 7.31 8.18 7.64 0.21 EC (dSm-1) 1.54 2.46 1.90 0.18 Ash Content (%) 58.24 68.48 64.08 1.98 Volatile Solids (%) 31.52 41.76 35.92 2.10 Organic carbon (%) 17.51 23.20 19.96 2.14 Total N (%) 1.12 1.61 1.36 0.05 Total P2O5 (%) 0.44 1.16 0.76 0.04 Total K2O (%) 0.62 0.82 0.68 0.09 C:N 13 : 1 16 : 1 14 : 1 0.50 Compost Mineralization Index 2.95 3.33 3.21 0.11 Microbial parameters (c.f.u. per gm moist compost) Total bacterial count (18 60) x 1016 28 x 10 16 4.3x1016 14 14 Total fungal count (10 24) x 10 13 x 10 2.3x1014 12 12 Total actinomycetes count (7 18) x 10 6.4 x 10 1.4x10 12 Stability parameters CO2 evolution rate 1.46 2.86 2.14 0.12 (mgCO 2 C/g OM/day) Phytotoxicity Bioassay (Triticumaestivum astestseed) Seedling emergence ( %) 86.24 94.54 89.64 2.60 Root elongation ( %) 88.20 96.42 94.68 2.52 Germination index ( %) 0.80 0.91 0.85 0.09 Parameters

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3.4.3 Stability, Maturity parameters of compost

and

Phytotoxicity
350 300 300

Stability, maturity and phytotoxicity rating of compost are the most important criteria for qualifying for field/ landfill application. Immature compost may contain high level of free ammonia, organic acids or other water soluble compounds, which can limit seed germination and root development (Thompson et al, 2002). Respiration rate (CO2 evolution) in final Novcom compost samples varied within 1.46 2.86 indicating mature and stable compost as suggested by Thompson et al. (2002). The phytotoxic effect of organic wastes are the result of a combination of several factors, like presence of heavy metals, ammonia, salts and low molecular weight organic acids (Zucconi et al., 1985). The bioassay test of final Novcom MSW compost samples using Cucumber (Cucumis sativus) as test seed revealed that percent seed germination and root elongation ranged from 86.24 to 94.54 and 88.20 to 96.42 respectively, over control. The results were above the U.S. Composting Council guideline (> 90) for very mature compost with no phytotoxic effect. The germination index value of Novcom MSW compost ranged between 0.80 to 0.91 with mean value of 0.85 indicating not only the absence of phytotoxicity (Tiquia et al., 1996) but also confirmed that the compost did not impair germination and radical growth (Trautmann and Krasny, 1997). 3.4.4 Heavy metal content of compost Presence of toxic heavy metals is one of the most limiting factors towards use of MSW as a source of raw material for composting. Total heavy metals viz. As, Cd, Ni, Pb, Cu and Zn in the final compost sample were analyzed and found to be well within the maximum permissible range (5.69, 0.77, 22.6, 53.0, 45.4 and 205 mgkg-1 respectively for As, Cd, Ni, Pb, Cu and Zn) indicating that the compost was absolutely safe for agricultural use (Fig 2.).

250 200 150 100 100 50 50 0 Nickel Maximumpermiss iblelimit Lead Copper Heavy metal pres ent 22. 6 53. 0 45. 4

Fig. 2: Content of heavy metals i.e. As, Cd, Ni, Pb, Cu and Zn in Novcom compost as compared to their maximum permissible limit for safe soil application. The major limiting factor behind effective management of MSW is the absence of suitable composting methods, which can provide a simple way out for effective biodegradation of toxic and hazardous materials into a standard quality end product. However, biodegradation of MSW using Novcom composting method could provide an easy and scientific solution to this unresolved area. The convenience and short biodegradation period of Novcom composting method makes it suitable for large scale adoption at the producer level. At the same time high quality of Novcom MSW compost in terms of high self-generated microbial population and absence of phytotoxicity assure its safe and effective usage in organic soil management as well as production. 4.0 Acknowledgement The authors are thankful to North Barrackpore and Garulia Municipalities for providing infrastructural support and to State Pollution Control Board for conducting heavy metal analysis of final compost, that were essential for scientific conclusion of the study.
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