The Effect of Turning on Home Composting

The improper handling of waste generation ultimately harms living organisms and their environment. It is evident from the analysis that Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) has a high percentage of biodegradable waste; thus, composting could be considered a sustainable and systematic approach. Composting yard waste helps reduce the load on the disposal site and improves crop productivity by providing nutrient-rich compost. Aeration speeds up the degradation process. Two identical composting bins were designed to assess the effect of turning on composting, and the various controlling factors, such as temperature, moisture content, pH, organic carbon content, etc, were observed for 4 weeks. The pH gradually increases over time. The moisture content drops from 68.28% to 53.3% and 56.67%. The temperature for turning the thermophilic phase twice weekly was seen on the 6th day. After the 12th day, the temperature fluctuated within the mesophilic range for a turning interval of once a week. The thermophilic phase was observed between the 10th day and the 20th day. By observing the variation in controlling parameters, it was figured out that turning the composting bin once a week is the ideal frequency for turning for home composting, compared to twice a week. However, turning twice a week is also up to the harmless standard.