Composting as a Tool for Solid Waste Management and for Promotion of Organic Farming: a case study of Senior High Schools in Ejura-Sekyedumase District, Ghana

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2011
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The existing landfill (not engineered) in Ejura-Sekyedumase district is reaching full capacity. Senior High Schools in the district contribute significantly to the quantity of solid waste generated in the district and adopting the nearest environment for dumping these wastes has been the easiest means of managing them. In addressing the task of properly disposing solid waste, it has become eminent to look for an alternative treatment option beyond land filling to reduce the increasing volume of waste in these schools. The rejection of landfill sitting by communities will lead to difficulty in acquiring land for land filling. This, together with the large investment cost in landfill construction has therefore necessitated the need for this research to divert part of the increasing volume of waste generated in these schools from going to the landfill. To establish the basis for waste diversion from landfill, this study was conducted to examine the possibility of using composting to manage solid waste generated in Senior High Schools in the district. Out of the two Senior High Schools in the district, one of them, Ejuraman Anglican Senior High School was used as a case study. Using a structured self-administered questionnaire, 246 students were surveyed from the school. Using specified tools, the quantity of solid waste generated in a day and its composition were determined. Compost was prepared from the organic waste fraction of the solid waste generated. Samples of the raw organic solid waste and the finished compost were taken to the laboratory for analysis. Data collected were subjected to graphical interpretations, percentage, mean, t-test and chi-x2. The findings revealed that the students in the school were knowledgeable about composting and acknowledged the need for it, but stayed in a school environment that has unsatisfactory solid waste management practices. The mean volume of solid waste generated in a day was 133.7 Kg. The wastes were sorted into three fractions of which the organic waste accounted for the highest proportion (81%) on the average. Though the C:N ratio of the organic waste (47:1) did not favour the effective composting of the organic solid waste in the school, the composting process reduced the organic solid waste by 49.3% and by extension 40.1% of the total solid waste generated in the school in a day leaving 59.9% of the waste to be sent to the landfill or disposed of. The study could not confirm the relatively appreciable level of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in the compost as has been reported by other researchers. The nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium content of the compost were 0.36%, 0.04% and 0.09% respectively. The prepared compost seemed not effective for the growth of maize. The school can reduce the increasing volume of waste that is disposed off through composting, but the compost prepared may not be able to support plant growth.
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A thesis submitted to the School of Graduate Studies, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the Degree of Master of Science in Environmental Science
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