Introduction of a Pilot Composting Program

Under Phase IV of the Bulgarian Resource Cities Program, three municipalities located in southeast Bulgaria (Elhovo , Bolyarovo , and Tundzha) partnered with U.S. solid waste experts from the city of Albany , New York, and the village of Johns town , Ohio, to implement t he Solid Waste Management Project, which had two main objectives: (1) the intro duction of a com posting program in the three municipalities with implementation of several pilot com posting sites and (2) intro duction of cost-benefit analysis methodologies to use in deter mining the location of a landfill or transfer station as well as other municipal applica tions. This case study focuses on the first objective.

To promote reduction of waste, the partners sought to develop a solid waste management plan that would be easy to understand, easy to accomplish, and have an end product that would be beneficial to the local users. The partners easily determined that the majority of waste generated was organic waste from gardens and manure from the animals used for transportation and food supply; hence, the partners decided to establish composting sites to generate compost for use as fertilizer. Most citizens in the area have their own gardens and need to provide good soil to continue growing their food supply. Some citizens were already using organic waste to fertilize their gardens, but without incorporating the fundamental principles of composting. The idea of establishing compost sites where the dumpsites had been located was the logical choice for establishing the villages new solid waste manage ment plans. Composting the organic waste would supply them with a soil enhancement for their gardens, reduce waste, and offer a way to clean up the illegal dumpsites scattered throughout the region.

As a result of the project, the municipalities established seven composting sites (three in Tundzha , two in Elhovo, and two in Bolyarovo) where the solid waste is separated into organic and inorganic waste . The organic waste is composted and the inorganic waste is disposed of in containers that will be collected and transported to a landfill or transfer station.

Solid waste management was similar for the three municipalities, which were facing diffi culties in applying the Law on Reduction of the Harmful Impact of Waste on the Envir on ment , later replaced by the Waste Management Act and its supple mentary regulations ; the Law on Restoration and Use of Agricultural Lands ; and the liquidation of industrial cattle breeding. The latter has led to the accumulation of manure in private farms, which have greater needs for construction and modernization of existing waste depots . The legislative changes have also reclassified small, rural depots that were legally constructed years ago as illegal entities that cannot be modernized to comply with the new requirements .

Consequently , a rea municipalities needed a solid waste management plan. Some of the larger villages provided trash collection services, but the majority did not. Most villages had one or two dumpsites located at the edge of the village. People would take their trash to the dump by horse cart and dump it on the ground somewhere in the area.

The largest obstacle to the pilot composting program was to convince people to separate their waste into organic and inorganic waste. Although very little household waste was generated, it was mixed with the organic waste at the dumpsites. The municipalities also needed to provide containers for the house hold waste that could not be composted.

The municipalities of Elhovo and Bolyarovo initiated the development of the project. The municipality of Tundzha joined in due to its large territory and the distance of its settled areas from the Yambol city landfill, which led to an increase in the cost of waste collection and disposal services paid by the residents of the more distant villages within Tundzha. The solution to the problem was to reduce the amount of waste that needed to be collected and explore the joint construction and operation of a regional solid waste landfill/transfer station (see the separate case study on this topic).

The U.S. experts participating in the project are Mr . Willard Bruce , Commissioner for the Department of General Services , City of Albany , New York, and Ms. Sarah Phillips , Village Man a ger for the Village of Johnstown, Ohio.

The first stage of the Solid Waste Management Project began in March 2003 with an analy sis of the landfills in the settled areas of Tundzha, Elhovo, and Bolyarovo munici palities. The analysis showed that most of the waste deposited (about 98 percent) is organic. The large quantity of organic waste pointed to the solution: establishing composting sites on the existing landfills terrains. The goal was to make the composting process as simple as possible so that citizens would not have to alter their routine when disposing of waste. They were still able to take their household and farm waste to the same location, but would have to exert a little extra effort for separation. Once the composting program was established, the citizens could take a load of compost back with them after they had disposed of their waste.

The U.S. experts began the program by training the Bulgarian experts in the process of composting and then educating the citizens about the benefits. All citizens of the villages where the pilot programs were implemented received an educational leaflet, What , How, and Why We Should Compost, showing the benefits of composting, the use of compost, the location of the facility, and the requirement for source separation.

Explaining the benefits of using compost on a garden was the primary purpose of developing the educational leaflet as well as proper instruction on the application of the compost. The primary reasons for adding compost to soil are to enhance the soil s ability to retain water, provide a shade to the soil, and replace nutrients lost during harvest. The composting process is an accelerated process of natural decomposition of organic materials in a controlled environment. The desired mixture requires a carbon-to-nitrogen ratio between 25 : 1 and 30 : 1 as a major nutritional environment for the micro organisms , maintaining the necessary humidity (50 60 percent ) and aeration of the compost ( a supply of oxygen is needed for the metabolism of the aerobic microorganisms participating in the composting process through machine mixing ).

The partners also used the educational leaflet to help citizens learn how to operate their own composting piles if they chose to keep their waste on-site. Many citizens had developed what they referred to as a composting pile, but were not properly mixing their waste and were thus producing a lower-quality compost for their gardens.

Based on the recommendation of the Bulgarian environmental experts, the partners selected pilot villages for implementing source separation of manure waste and provided solid waste containers for each composting site. Later, composting piles were built at the sites. The muni cipalities provided the necessary equipment for turning the piles to speed up the com posting process .

In September 2003 the partners visited all of the pilot composting sites. All sites were being properly maintained, and residents were becoming accustomed to separating their waste. Some municipalities had found users for their compost. In Bolya rovo, a local tobacco farmer was using the compost to fertilize the soil when planting tobacco seedlings. In exchange, the farmer allowed the village to use farm equipment for turning of the compost piles.

March 2003 : Selection of pilot villages for project implementation.

April 2003 : Provision of solid waste containers for each site .

April May 2003 : Preparation and dissemination of an educational leaflet.

October 2003 to present: Provision for frequent turning of composting piles .

September 2003 to present: Operational compost sites in seven municipalities.

October 2003: Identification of compost users.

The partners considered the following in undertaking project activities:

Selection of pilot composting sites. Each site needed to be easily accessible to the citi zens who will use it; large enough to handle the amount of waste generated in a particu lar area; and close enough to a good road for the truck to service the household waste container.

Containers for household waste. Containers needed to be placed at each compost site, of a size determined by the amount of household waste generated.

Citizen outreach, emphasizing the importance of separating the waste at the source. The outreach efforts included distribution of an educational leaflet and meetings with the citizens to clarify the benefits and uses of the finished compost.

Establishment of markets for the finished compost. Some of the finished compost could be used by small, private farms; some could be used by tobacco farms or other large-scale farm facilities; some could be used for reforestation activities . The end use depends on the sources available in the area surrounding the compost site.

Reduction of the mixed waste amount to create a more efficient solid waste management plan.

Establishment of a means for turning the compost piles. The more frequent the turning, the faster the compost will be available for distribution. At some sites, local farmers turn the piles; some sites contract with a vendor; some will have a company turn the piles in exchange for use of the finished product. Since the machinery is only used for a short period of time each week, it is best to find a local person who can easily access the site.

Seven composting sites are operational in the three municipalities , thus eliminating the illegal dumps that previously existed.

Source separation of solid waste into organic and inorganic waste has been established as the proper method for solid waste disposal and is occurring at each composting site .

Each municipality has identified end-product users for the finished compost. These range from individual households to local tobacco farms or agricultural farms.

Less waste is entering the landfills. The municipalities are working on a plan to more efficiently dispose of household waste by contracting with one hauler that could empty all the containers and transport household waste to a local landfill or transfer station.

Citizens have used the educational leaflet to better understand the benefits of using com post to hold moisture in the soil for greater yield of their gardens, and how to properly apply the compost.

Citizens now have an efficient and economical means for disposing of their waste while creating a product that can be used to enhance their food supply.

The Bulgarian experts have enhanced their professional capacity in solid waste management.

It was encouraging to see the number of villages that were willing to participate in the composting program. The partners originally planned to establish one pilot site in each munici pality, but have actually established seven sites, with more in the planning process. The support of the mayors, deputy mayors, and experts in each village helped make the composting program a success.

The program can easily be implemented in other areas by applying the same procedures used in the pilot composting program. Other areas can implement a solid waste manage ment plan using the composting process as the primary way of disposing of the organic waste and using a local hauler to remove the household waste. Villages will need to follow through with the proper disposal of the household waste to an appropriate landfill or transfer station.

To improve the efficiency of their solid waste management, the three municipalities should continue to work together to obtain one hauler that can service all of the containers.