Browsing by Subject "Composting"
Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
Results Per Page
Sort Options
Item A Study of Sustainable Compost Micro-Enterprise In Chimaltenango, Guatemala: Profitability and Employee Characteristics(2012-02-14) Silberg, TimothyOver 13 million people live in Guatemala, and among this population more than 50% live below the poverty line. One proposed solution to mitigate the large percentage of poverty in the country is micro-entrepreneurship. A compost micro-enterprise is a small business, which collects organic raw material and processes it into stable humus material for the purpose of applying to soils to increase crop yields. Developing such micro-enterprises could not only indirectly improve current soil nutrient deficiencies specific to the region, but also provide alternative incomes for the already agriculturally involved community. The success or failure of enterprises practicing composting may be measured by a plethora of figures or outcomes. Employee characteristics are one variable that should be taken into consideration when estimating the efficiency of an agricultural enterprise's operations and productivity. While a variable, such as an employee characteristic, may not be able to be quantified exactly it should be argued that this variable can have a structural impact on productivity. Another crucial variable considered when developing such a micro-enterprise is accounting for its input and output. It is explained the issue of costs within micro-enterprises is complex and should be considered not only in terms of fees but also in terms of payments in any kind, such as entry and exit presence, and the duration of the apprenticeship. When an enterprise has failed to account for its various inputs and consequent output, it has become unsustainable because it has not satisfied basic economic, social and security needs presently and for its future. This study identified and described employee characteristics and documented the inputs and outputs of compost micro-enterprises in Chimaltenango, Guatemala. The study found that employee characteristics, particularly gender, age, and occupation affected a micro-enterprise's access to markets as well as row materials, and how efficiently tasks were completed. Costs of labor, raw material, transport, packaging, energy and the location the micro-enterprise itself heavily influenced profitability. The production of any product on a large scale must anticipate how positive financial outcomes will occur because profitability may not arrive as planned. If the revenue cannot be determined and/or made, compost micro-enterprise may fail to be a sustainable, much less a viable option for alternative income streams.Item Evaluation of In-House Windrow Composting as a Poultry Litter Treatment Prior to Land Application(2013-08-05) Winkler, ScottThe land application of poultry litter as a fertilizer is a common practice due to the low cost and high availability of poultry litter in some regions. However, land application can create concerns related to runoff water quality and odor. An experiment was conducted to determine the effectiveness of in-house windrow composting (IWC) of poultry litter prior to land application in terms of bacteria, odors and nutrients compared to untreated (fresh) litter. In the second part of the research, the objective was to quantify the number and distribution within poultry houses of selected water quality indicator bacteria in litter. Comparison of fresh and IWC litter showed that Escherichia coli (E. coli) was present in very low concentrations on day 1 in fresh litter (20 cfu/g) and IWC litter (55 cfu/g), but the levels were undetectable in both litter types on day 9 in Trial 1. In Trial 2, E. coli levels were undetectable in IWC litter before and after the IWC process. Similarly, fresh litter had undetectable E. coli levels on day 1, but 185 cfu/g on day 10. Additionally, nutrient analysis and moisture content results showed no significant differences between fresh and IWC litter. To evaluate odor differences between fresh and IWC litter, volatile gases were collected onto sorbent tubes and into Tedlar bags from wind tunnel flux chambers placed directly on litter piles prior to land application. The concentrations of 13 compounds commonly associated with animal manure were then determined by GC/MS. Analysis of volatile gas samples resulted in significant changes of various individual odorants, while olfactometry analysis of Tedlar bag air samples resulted in reduced detection threshold values for IWC litter compared to the fresh litter. These results indicate the possible mitigating effects IWC may have on odors associated with litter. In the survey of bacterial distribution within poultry houses, litter counts varied greatly within house sections and between farms. Regression analysis revealed that bacterial counts and litter moisture content are significantly related, thus explaining much of the variation in litter bacterial counts within a house. These results indicate that IWC could be a useful best management practice to reduce E. coli levels and odor associated with poultry litter prior to land application, but factors such as moisture content, initial bacteria concentrations, and windrow size all affect the level of bacteria and odor reduction.Item Reworking municipal composting : expanding support for trash workers in Mexico City’s composting program(2014-08) Kattan, Samantha; Sletto, BjørnAs municipalities in the developing world are struggling to deal with the ever-increasing rate of residential trash generation, many have embraced the practice of diverting organic waste to composting plants. However, because most models for implanting new Solid Waste Management (SWM) programs have emerged from the experiences of municipalities in the industrialized world, they often gloss over the particular social, cultural and economic contexts that make SWM programming particularly challenging in the developing world. In Mexico City, the absence of curbside collection, and a trash workforce comprised of both formal and informal trash collectors, have created unique challenges for the municipality’s composting program that was initiated in 2004. This report attempts to highlight that the limited success of the program thus far might be rooted in the program’s design, which has largely ignored the needs of the trash workers who are largely held responsible for its implementation.