Fermentables in household waste - Two separate management: the collection of fermentables and the individual compost bin

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to evaluate two systems for managing compostable organic waste: separate collection by the municipality, and individual composting by means of a standard "composter bin". The studies were performed in Niort and in Rochefort-Sur-Mer (western France) covering respectively municipalily collected and private compost processing over the period 1996-1998. Users of the systems in both places were on a volunter basis. The study demonstrate that both system evaluated (central collection and individual composting) produce less residual domestic waste comparatively to the conventional system; although the organic waste fraction does not account for the overall difference obtain. The results indicate the percentage of "kitchen" and "garden" wastes within the contents of each individual bin analysed. In Niort, the monitoring of "garden" waste fate highligth the importance of dump including users for which central organic waste collection was applied by the municipality. However the voluntary system utilised in both places limits the scope for extrapolation.