Organic waste

“ In populous districts, in villages, towns, but also near habitations, the soil from which water is obtained must, of necessity, be impregnated with organic waste matter. If, in such a surface well, the level of the water is lowered by pumping, the zone of pollution is extended laterally in all directions. Ordinary shallow well water should always be considered "suspicious water." ”

“ During the early part of this century, our focus changed to using chemicals; organic wastes were often considered nuisances with little value. These days we are rediscovering compost as an agent of soil improvement and also finding out that we must compost organic waste materials to recycle them in an ecologically sound manner. ”

“ Historically, man has assumed that the land, water, and air around him would absorb his waste products. The ocean, the atmosphere, and even the earth were viewed as receptacles of infinite capacity. It is clear now that man may be exceeding nature's capacity to assimilate his wastes.
Most pollutants eventually decompose and diffuse throughout the environment. When organic substances are discarded, they are attacked by bacteria and decompose through oxidation. They simply rot. ”

“ So that, you see, the waste products of the animal economy, the effete materials which are continually being thrown off by all living beings, in the form of organic matters, are constantly replaced by supplies of the necessary repairing and rebuilding materials drawn from the plants, which in their turn manufacture them, so to speak, by a mysterious combination of those same inorganic materials. ”

“ These proteinaceous, high-nitrogen and trace-mineral-rich materials are readily available at little or no cost in pickup load lots from canneries and sea food processors. However, in compost piles, large quantities of these materials readily putrefy, make the pile go anaerobic, emit horrid odors, and worse, attract vermin and flies. To avoid these problems, fresh seafood wastes must be immediately mixed with large quantities of dry, high C/N material. There probably are only a few homestead composters able to utilize a ton or two of wet fish waste at one time. ”

“ Similarly, modern home owners want to stop sending yard wastes to landfills. These days householders may be offered incentives (or threatened with penalties) by their municipalities to separate organic, compostable garbage from paper, from glass, from metal or from plastic. Individuals who pay for trash pickup by volume are finding that they can save considerable amounts of money by recycling their own organic wastes at home.
The first audience is interested in learning about the role of compost in soil fertility, better soil management methods and growing healthier, more nutritious food. ”

“ So that you see, this living animal, this horse, begins its existence as a minute particle of nitrogenous matter, which, being supplied with nutriment (derived, as I have shown, from the inorganic world) , grows up according to the special type and construction of its parents, works and undergoes a constant waste, and that waste is made good by nutriment derived from the inorganic world; the waste given off in this way being directly added to the inorganic world ”

“ Composting shall refer to the controlled decomposition of organic matter by micro-organisms, mainly bacteria and fungi, into a humus-like product; (g) Consumer electronics shall refer to special waste that includes worn-out, broken, and other discarded items such as radios, stereos, and TV sets; (h) Controlled dump shall refer to a disposal site at which solid waste is deposited in accordance with the minimum prescribed standards of site operation; (i) Department shall refer to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources ”

“ The quantity of harmful waste produced by a community is surprisingly small in comparison with the disastrous effects it may produce. All authorities agree that in cities provided with an abundant water supply sewage contains less than one-tenth of one per cent. of foreign substances. This organic matter and the products of its decomposition the Massachusetts State Board of Health has found rarely exceed one-half of one per cent. ”

“ The same debilitating effect and the same injurious influences often result from the neglect of other organic wastes. The refuse of the kitchen sink is free from fæcal matter; but it contains, in a greater or less degree, precisely the kind of [Pg 71] organic material which has gone to make up the more offensive substance. If its final disposition is such as to contaminate the water that we drink or the air that we breathe with the products of their decay, the danger to life is hardly less than that from the decomposition of fæcal accumulations. ”

“ The food wastes of the kitchen and table, consisting of decomposable organic matter, and commonly known as garbage, require separate disposal; and the same is true of ashes, waste paper, and other rubbish. Street dirt must be collected and removed, and the streets must be sprinkled to keep down the dust which is inevitable even with the best sweeping. ”

“ Yard waste compost is a product much like a homeowner would produce. And yard waste compost contains no industrial waste or any material that might pose health threats. All woody materials are finely chipped before composting and comprise no more than 20 percent of the total undecayed mass by weight. ”

“ Utilize environmentally-sound methods that maximize the utilization of valuable resources and encourage resource conservation and recovery; (c) Set guidelines and targets for solid waste avoidance and volume reduction through source reduction and waste minimization measures, including composting, recycling, re-use, recovery, green charcoal process, and others, before collection, treatment and disposal in appropriate and environmentally sound solid waste management facilities in accordance with ecologically sustainable development principles ”

“ The varying regional geologic, hydrologic, climatic, and other factors vital in the implementation of solid waste practices to ensure the reasonable protection of: (1) the quality of surface and groundwater from leachate contamination; (2) the quality of surface waters from surface run-off contamination; and (3) ambient air quality. (e) Population density, distribution and projected growth; (f) The political, economic, organizational, financial and management problems affecting comprehensive solid waste management; (g) Systems and techniques of waste reduction, re-use and recycling ”

“ Factory refuse, instead of being allowed to pollute the waters, should be turned to good use by extracting the chemicals, which form valuable by-products. All farm waste should be taken to a remote part of the farm, placed in an open shed or vat with cement floor and screened from flies to form a compost heap for fertilizers for the farm. This will amply repay the extra trouble and expense by increasing the farm crops. The sooner such refuse, especially manure, is returned to the land, the more valuable it is as a fertilizer. ”

“ But Americans foolishly send megatons of kitchen garbage to landfills or overburden sewage treatment plants by grinding garbage in a disposal. The average C/N of garbage is rather low so its presence in a compost heap facilitates the decomposition of less potent materials. ”

“ Our country produces more than 200 million tons of municipal solid waste—approximately 4 pounds of waste per person per day. As more garbage is generated, the demands on our landfills, natural resources, and environment continue to grow. Recycling helps conserve energy and natural resources, provides raw materials for key domestic industries, reduces air and water pollution, cuts greenhouse gas emissions, and promotes the development of cleaner technologies. Recycling and composting diverts millions of tons of material away from landfills and incinerators. ”

“ If the area over {76}which they are thrown is large enough, and particularly if the soil is porous and well covered with vegetation, nature's filter-bed—the soil, the bacteria, and the roots of the grass and other plants combined—will purify a surprising amount of waste; but there is always the danger, particularly in the wet weather of spring and of late fall, that the soil will become charged with more of these waste matters than the bacteria can destroy, and that these waste poisons will be washed down in the rain water right into the pit, or trap, which has been dug for it—the well. ”

“ When decay is allowed to proceed, the obvious result is, first of all, a softening of the material, as in the case of a rotten apple, a liquefaction, as it is more technically known. Following that part of the process is a gradual breaking down of the material, the residue being of an earthy character which is assimilated by the soil into which it falls.
The bacteria required for the putrefaction of organic matter are among the most widely distributed of all the micro-organisms. They are always found in the air, except on mountain tops, in deserts, and over the ocean. ”

“ What happened to the other 1,200 pounds of dry material? Some, of course, went to grow the animal. Some was enzymatically "burned" as energy fuel and its wastes given off as CO2 and H2O. Most of it was excreted in liquid form. After all, what is digestion but an enzymatic conversion of dry material into a water solution so it can be circulated through the bloodstream to be used and discarded as needed. Urine also contains numerous complex organic substances and cellular breakdown products that improve the health of the soil ecology. ”

“ The term "solid wastes" means materials or substances generated in the course of production, people's daily life or other activities, which have lost their original use value, or are discarded or abandoned although they have not lost use value, and which are solid or semi-solid in form, or in the gaseous state but are kept in containers, and materials and substances that are subject to solid waste management according to laws and administrative regulations. ”

“ To the surface of the earth we owe thus a purifying influence whose activity furnishes us vegetation and food on the one hand and preservation from disease on the other. This purifying power is not possessed by the deeper layers, and therefore the percolation of organic refuse into them from deep cesspools is wasteful to agriculture and dangerous to our storehouse of drinking water.
Even the surface of the soil when overloaded with sewage loses partially its power of purifying the organic matter. ”

“ I may here mention that the system of sewage is far superior to any yet devised on Earth. No particle of waste is allowed to pollute the waters. The whole is deodorised by an exceedingly simple process, and, whether in town or country, carried away daily and applied to its natural use in fertilising the soil. ”

“ Generator shall refer to a person, natural or juridical, who last uses a material and makes it available for disposal or recycling; (p) Hazardous waste shall refer to solid waste management or combination of solid waste which because of its quantity, concentration or physical, chemical or infectious characteristics may: (1) cause, or significantly contribute to an increase in mortality or an increase in serious irreversible, or incapacitating reversible, illness ”

“ Another poorly used resource is solid wastes. the disposal of which has become a major problem in many cities. with much of it dumped and uncollected, Promoting the reclamation, reuse, recycling of materials can reduce the problem of solid waste, stimulate employment, and result in savings of raw materials. Composting can support urban agriculture. ”

“ Integrated Crop Management (SP53) ; which demonstrates the use of crop management measures that encourage efficient use of pesticides and nutrients and demonstrate ecological benefits while maintaining farm income. Agricultural Waste Control Facilities (WP4) ; which can reduce the existing water, land, or air pollution by agricultural wastes. The modified practice is applicable to areas of farmland where agricultural wastes from the farm constitute a significant pollution hazard. ”

“ The utilization of the sewage of great cities for agricultural ends has virtually been a demonstrated success in Paris and many of our own towns. The same success, by patient experiment, is obtainable in many other waste products, which, in ignorance of their value, we suffer to defile our streets, pollute our rivers, and taint the air we breathe. The purification of the outflow of paper-mills and the utilization of the sludge and other waste products are now carried out. ”

“ If these be poured on the surface, the 'living earth' (i.e. the humus stuffed with animal and microbial life) purges them of their organic matter, and transmits a relatively pure liquid to the deeper layers. If they be taken to the barren subsoil direct, as in underground sewers and cesspools, they escape the purifying action of air and aërobic organisms, and inevitably poison the water. Filthy liquids accumulating in cesspools and leaking under pressure to our wells have cost us health and money incalculable. ”

“ As the disposal of carbages should be done properly, so that the polution of air is avoided, Disposal of human waste products, and death bodies If industrial wastage should be done properly. Disposal of hospital waste must be done. ”

“ More microbes accelerate the breakdown of humus and even more plant nutrients are released as organic matter decays. And that is why holistic farmers and gardeners mistakenly criticize chemical fertilizers as being directly destructive of soil microbes. Actually, all fertilizers, chemical or organic, indirectly harm soil life, first increasing their populations to unsustainable levels that drop off markedly once enough organic matter has been eaten. Unless, of course, the organic matter is replaced.
Chicken manure compost is another matter. ”