Composting Potentials of Food Waste in Seoul and Its Utilization

서울시 음식물쓰레기의 퇴비화 이용 방안

Composting is an ecologically sound method of recycling organic waste. Its advantages include the maintenance of soil fertility and improvement of soil physicochemical property. It is an essential part of the waste minimization. That is, composting should be included to increase the recycling rate up to more than 20%. To encourage composting of waste, it is necessary to develop some effective composters of small scale facilities and densely populated areas. For medium and large-size facilities, the optimum process should be selected. Technical counselling and support is desirable for small scale composters for urban residential and rural area. On the other hand, adequate amendment of relevant legislation should be followed to encourage composting. An example of unreasonable legislation is the current fertilizer management act. According to the regulation, the maximum allowable limit of lead in the compost is less than 150ppm, which is too strict. This limit should be increased to at least 300ppm, which is the observed level in most states in USA. At the same time, sound infrastructure should be established and decent publicity work should be achieved to accelerate composting activity. In this paper the desirable standard for some heavy metal concentration in the compost were suggested.