Compost production in developing countries: case study

Abstract Facing the problems connected to the wrong management of urban wastes, a few Developing Countries (D.C.) have set up the industry of processing household refuse through composting. However the compost produced is not assessed, its quality and promotion next to farmers are not ensured. This work intends to assess the quality of compost produced on a site so as to make a qualitative comparison. In view of the results, it has been noticed that in the compost, the majority of the metals seen are located in the slenderest fractions. The humidity content is weak or low along the whole process of degradation. The pH is stabilized between 7 and 8. The nitrate content increases progressively and the ammonium content reaches a maximum after fifteen days of fermentation. Solvita®'s test result for the « coarse » compost is of 4 (young compost ), very active and immature and for the « fine » compost of 3 (very active compost), young materiel with high rate of breathing. They are in the process of degradation according to the scale of 8 (mature compost). The compost shows then a slice phyto-toxicity due to a lack of maturation of the product. The fine compost which doesn't show any pathogenic agent (E. coli and Shigella). The latter is then hygenized. Therefore, the result of all this is that, the process at the current stage, produces a compost of an average agronomical quality.