PRE-PROCESSING TECHNOLOGIES TO PREPARE SOLID WASTE FOR COMPOSTING

The organic constituents of municipal solid waste can be converted into compost for use as a safe, beneficial soil amendment, conserving landfill space. The solid waste must first be processed to remove contaminants and prepare the organics for composting. This paper describes five different pre­ processing systems, covering a broad range of technical approaches. Three are described briefly; two, from projects managed by the author, are presented as more detailed case histories: I) a pilot study at a refuse-derived fuel (RDF) plant in Hartford, Connecticut and 2) a solid waste composting facility in East Hampton, New York. Materials flow diagrams and mass balances are presented for each process, showing that 100 tons of solid waste will yield 32 to 44 tons of compost, requiring disposal of 3 to 10 tons of metal, grit, and glass and 16 to 40 tons of light residue that can be landfilled or used as RDF.