TakaFert: Biofertilizer of Leachate Sludge and Food Wastes by Takakura Composting

Abstract

Municipal waste is growing rapidly due to the increase in the human population. Higher production of leachate from the treatment plant also cause problems to the landfills storage. Takakura composting method (TCM) is one of the techniques that is frequently used to recycle and transform the organic materials into a natural fertilizer. In this project, the leachate sludge will be mix together with food waste in order to enhance the degradation of the organic matter. The use of cultivated microorganisms which will be produced from the fermentation solution. The physical and chemical analyses were observed in order to determine the rate of microbial activity optimum condition of the good compost. The parameters that were analyzed are temperature, moisture content, pH value, NPK (Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium) and heavy metals concentration. All four types of compost with 1 kg weight ended with a neutral pH in the range 7-8 after 5 weeks’ observations. NPK content for potassium is from 57 ppm to 104 ppm, phosphorus is from 2.5 ppm to 15 ppm and nitrogen is from 0.9% to 3 %. For heavy metal content at the end of the observation, all composts have a low level of Pb, Cd, Cu, Zn and Cr where it is safe to be used in agriculture activities. As a conclusion, the compost in this study is sufficient to be used in agricultural purposes, and the optimum condition of the compost was demonstrated by Compost C which uses the ratio of 0.3: 0.2: 0.5 (gram).