Utilization of organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) as compost: A case study Of Florida, South Africa

Composting of municipal solid waste is one of the means of diverting organic waste from the waste streams thus eliminating the use of landfills. This process will ensure availability of cheaper materials which can enhance soil fertility thus leading to reduction of pollution and increasing life span of the landfill site. Availability of reliable data on waste composition and characterization studies will be invaluable to policy makers for formulation of policy on proper waste management. Also, quantification and characterization of municipal solid waste (MSVV) are vital tools for decision making for adequate planning on sustainable solid waste management (SSWM). The objective of this paper is to evaluate the physical composition of the various waste components and the chemical composition of the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) that originate from Florida that are disposed at the Marie Louise landfill site (LS) in order to make a proposition on the complete diversion of the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) from going to the landfill. A composition study was conducted during the winter in June 2016 at the site. From the results, organic was 11% for Dailies and 27% for Round collected refuse (RCR) collection services. Food waste sample was taken from the site to the testing facility and was analyzed for both the elemental and proximate analysis. From the elemental analysis; carbon was found to be 45.03%, hydrogen 6.20%, nitrogen 1.90%, oxygen 41.16%, the C: N ratio was 22.74 and from the proximate analysis; moisture content was 63.47%, ash 5.56%, volatile matter 22.63%, fixed carbon 8.77% and the empirical formula developed was C_2gH₄₆NOi9.