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E-book Organic Waste Composting through Nexus Thinking : Practices, Policies, and Trends

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Penilaian

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This introductory chapter explains why organic waste composting is con-sidered as one of the best examples to demonstrate the benefits of nexus thinking. Current literature is rich with information covering various aspects of composting process. However, it mainly represents two distinct fields: waste from the manage-ment point of view and soil/agriculture from the nutrient recycling point of view. It is hard to find information on how these two fields can benefit from each other, except for a few examples found within large agricultural fields/businesses. A pol-icy/institutional framework that supports a broader integration of management of such resources is lacking: a structure that goes beyond the typical municipal or ministerial boundaries. There is a clear need to address this gap, and nexus thinking can help immensely close the gap by facilitating the mindset needed for policy inte-gration. Good intention of being sustainable is not enough if there is no comprehen-sive plan to find a stable market for the compost as a product. Therefore, the chapter also discusses the strong need to have a good business case for composting projects. Composting can also support achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) proposed by the United Nations. While directly supporting SDG 2 (Zero hunger), SDG 12 (Responsible consumption and production), and SDG 13 (Climate action), enhanced composting practices may also assist us reach several other targets speci-fied in other SDGs. While encouraging waste composting as a sustainable method of waste and soil management, we should also be cautious about the possible adverse effects compost can have on the environment and public health, especially due to some non-traditional raw materials that we use nowadays such as wastewater sludge and farm manure. Towards the end, we urge for the improvement of the entire chain ranging from waste generation to waste collection/separation to compost formation and, finally, application to soil to ensure society receives the maximum benefit from composting. Composting is a natural process of biological decomposition and stabilisation of organic waste (Oppliger and Duquenne 2016; Dollhofer and Zettl 2017). The nutrient-rich final product, that can be applied to land as soil fertiliser or stabiliser, offers significant benefits to agroecological systems as it combines environmental protection with sustainable agricultural production (Thanh et al. 2015; Román et al. 2015; Mbuligwe et al. 2002). The improvement of soil properties is a major benefit of compost application (Brändli et al. 2007).Composting has also been gaining increasing attention as an alternative way of waste processing. In addition to the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (MSW), it is now also being adapted for treatment of various other types of organic waste such as farm manures, sewage sludge, and industrial sludge (Otoo and Drechsel 2018; Azim et al. 2018; Barker 1997). Indeed, the composting process has the ability to reduce pathogenic bacteria, viruses, and parasites in such waste mate-rial, which could otherwise pose a health risk. Although pathogens cannot be elimi-nated completely via composting, the presence of pathogens in compost is lower than in livestock manures (Wéry 2014).In the above context, organic waste composting helps us to be more sustainable with how we manage our environmental resources. Nutrient recycling embedded in the concept of composting supports the idea of transitioning to a circular economy, which is currently being discussed in many international circles. There is also another international dialogue currently occurring on the developmental agenda put forward by the United Nations in 2015, which comprises of 17 goals to be achieved by 2030, i.e. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (UN 2015a). As we discuss later in this chapter, organic waste composting directly addresses a few SDGs in addition to partially supporting several others.

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Ketersediaan

Informasi Detail

Judul Seri

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No. Panggil

628.4 HET o

Penerbit

: Springer Nature., 2020

Deskripsi Fisik

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Bahasa

English

ISBN/ISSN

9783030362836

Klasifikasi

628.4

Tipe Isi

text

Tipe Media

computer

Tipe Pembawa

online resource

Edisi

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Subjek

General Sanitary

Info Detail Spesifik

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Pernyataan Tanggungjawab

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Versi lain/terkait

Lampiran Berkas

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