Thursday 22 December 2011

Kitchen Composting

I wrote in the premier posting that "our waste management efforts must match our rate of waste generation". It will take diverse waste management approaches to match both. The good news is that it can be done; it needs individual discipline that can engender real attitudinal change, and commitment. Composting biodegradable waste is a very cheap process which can be utilized in the back yard and in the kitchen. The images below take readers through my kitchen composting, an aspect of my waste management project. The idea is to motivate conscientious Ghanaians to reduce the waste they send out to the landfill. Let us all apply the principles of 5R, as advocated by the Earthworm Interest Group of Southern Africa (EIGSA):
http://www.eigsa.co.za/

Composting in my kitchen

Follow the processes below to start your kitchen compost so you can regenerate biodegradable waste. Anytime a person composts biodegradable waste , the waste sent out to the landfill is reduced, rendering effective our efforts at waste management.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Pic. 1: All  you need is a plastic bin to store your kitchen and carbon waste.


                                              Pic. 2: Bin perforated on top for aeration.


                                                         Pic. 3: Bin perforated underneath for draining


                                                                        
                                               Pic. 4: Perforated holes covered with gauze to prevent invasion by flies.

                                               Pic. 5: Bin lined with durable black polythene. Sand as base for compost.
 
                                               
Pic. 6: Kitchen waste and dry leaves added to the soil                                      

                                     
                                    Pic. 7: Browns--white, brown, tissue and newspaper, sawdust added to waste.
                
                             
                                Pic. 8: Bin covered and placed for draining.                    













                                     Pic. 9: Compost bin under my kitchen sink.
                                   
I have been adding kitchen waste and carbon materials since August. That is my quota in fighting the waste menace in the country.

Start the process i, nurture the waste by providing adequate moisture and heat, whilst adding to the waste, carbon and nitrogen material simultaneously. Leave the rest to nature.

                                Pic. 10: Even in the confines of the a plastic bin, nature works.
Three months later,  there is evidence of decomposition, waste gradually turning into soil.