Composting

A fundamental aim of EC and UK waste policy is to make waste management more sustainable by moving it up the waste hierarchy, the emphasis changing from disposal to recycling and recovery. This approach is based on the concept of adopting the best practicable environmental option (BPEO) for individual waste streams and dealing with waste as close as possible to its place of production (the proximity principle). Change is being driven by legislative and economic instruments such as the Landfill Directive and landfill tax, which seek to restrict the use of landfill for biodegradable municipal waste and make alternatives financially viable in the market-place. These developments have focused attention on the role of composting as the BPEO for dealing with organic waste. This paper focuses on the potential role of centralized waste composting as part of an integrated municipal waste strategy. It reviews composting options in general terms, including the alternative technology of anaerobic digestion, and comments on the role they can play in a sustainable integrated municipal waste system.