Other components
Sometimes other ingredients are added in order to enrich the final mixture, control the conditions of the process or activate the microorganisms responsible for it. Sprinkling lime in small quantities can control the appearance of an excessive degree of acidity that reduces the speed of fermentation. The
Algae provide important micronutrients. Some pulverized rocks provide minerals, unlike clay.
The manure fraction may come from human feces. However, the risk of not reaching temperatures high enough to eliminate pathogens means that they are not usually used on food crops. The general use of feces from carnivorous animals is also not recommended in home composting since they contain pathogens that are difficult to eliminate. Even so, they can be useful for fertilizing trees, gardens, etc.
In Mediterranean climate, compost maturity is obtained after 3 or 6 months in spring/summer and 6 to 9 months in winter.
Domestic: This category considers residual materials from food preparation (parts of fruits, vegetables, and egg shells, among others) and waste of animal origin (meat, skin, blood, bones, and others).[16].
Garden: Includes the remains of orchard crops, dead flowers, stems, grasses and leaf litter.
Agricultural by-products: The most used are harvest residues from practically all crops (for example, rice, wheat, barley, corn, sugar cane, beans, sunflower, etc.) as well as husks and bran obtained from threshing or grinding.
Livestock waste: Manure, urine and droppings from all types of animals are excellent for composting as they contain a high percentage of nutrients.
Forestry: The remains of trees, leaves and fallen branches are an important source of material for making compost. These wastes contain large amounts of cellulose and lignin that partially decompose in the compost pile and continue to mineralize in the soil after being applied.
Urban and agro-industrial waste: Consists of the biodegradable fraction of garbage, such as cardboard, paper, fine food waste and natural fibers and the waste that comes from the industrialization of products such as vegetables, cocoa, coffee, rice, corn, wheat, sorghum, wood and seeds, among others. The use of non-biodegradable materials, such as glass, metals, wire, plastics, rubber, fresh ashes, synthetic fibers or fruits with thorns, should be avoided, as they can cause problems for the people in charge of handling them.
coffee composting
Coffee composting is carried out with the collection of organic coffee waste, which aims to serve as an organic contribution for plants and green areas, since it provides nutrients to generate sustainable development.[17][17].
The procedure to make coffee compost is:.
Once the coffee transformation time has passed, compost is obtained, which can be distributed in the green areas.
Avicomposting
It is a systemic detritophagous use system (permaculture) in which chickens are introduced. Remains of organic matter from domestic origin and green waste from the orchard and garden are successively and daily contributed to the composter, which serve as food for the chickens and other microfauna. After about two months, the first composter is completed with the chicken manure that provides nitrogen, sealed and watered to allow and accelerate the thermal phase. At the end of the thermal phase, access is again allowed to the hens who take advantage of the high density of microfauna and worms as a protein supplement, removing it weekly until the compost matures. This composting process introduces ecological complexity and allows for increased yield and use. The composter therefore acts as a feeder (which can be made with pallets, forming a 1 m² base) leaving entrances for the hens on two sides, and/or at the top with a ladder. Generally, depending on the type and amount of waste, it is necessary to supplement the hens' feed with some grain-feed and calcium (shells) and proteins.
In Torremocha de Jarama, an experience began in 2010 with two community poultry composters, each with 13 chickens and used by 7 families who contribute their organic remains. Each family had a fixed day a week to collect the eggs. In this way, about three cubic meters of quality compost and about 3,000 eggs per year are obtained. In 2012, a larger process began in the municipality of Noáin in Navarra in a municipal park and with the involvement of the city council (park of the senses) in which 30 families participate, dividing up the days of the month to contribute biowaste from the brown container where neighbors deposit their biowaste. Noáin's case was used for the design of a prefabricated composting chicken coop model—avicompo model—by the Vermican company.
Starting in 2012, the TERRAE network of municipalities promoted the model in several municipalities of Toledo (Campillo de la Jara), Madrid (Redueña) and Cáceres (Carcaboso), with the municipalities providing the facilities and/or materials for their self-construction.