Farmers benefit as scheme converts waste to compost

Friday, Apr 09, 2010

Liwa: Kitchen waste is converted into 500 tonnes of organic fertilizer every month, thanks to an initiative by the Al Ain Municipality.

The organic fertilizer has minimized the use of chemical fertilizers in Al Ain, paving the way for eco-friendly agricultural practices, said an executive of a private company, which has been assigned by the Municipality to treat the city's garbage.

"Out of 800 to 1,200 tonnes of garbage collected daily from the city, more than half comes from kitchen waste and remnants of plants and trees collected by a landscaping company. They never include sludge or human waste," said Wail Saod Deebah, sales manager of Emirates Environmental Technology Company in Al Ain.

He spoke to Gulf News at Liwa Agricultural Exhibition organized by Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority.

"They are treated to make compost," he said.

Compost cost

The executive said, although the compost costs Dh250 per tonne in the market, the Municipality gives it to local farmers at a subsided price of Dh125 per tonne which encourages them to minimize the use of chemical fertilizers.

Explaining the treatment of garbage to make compost, Deebah said it begins with the segregation of garbage into recyclable waste and organic waste.

Recyclable materials, like plastics and metals, are packed and sold to companies which recycle them, he said.

Meanwhile, organic waste is filtered again through a 10 millimeter net to take out small solids.

"Although the organic waste contains kitchen waste and remnants of plants, leaves, branches of trees [collected by landscaping companies], it will have small pieces of plastics and metals," he said.

The remaining organic waste is put under the sun for seventy days until it becomes pure organic fertilizer, the executive added.

Use of organic fertilizer

Farmers using compost will also use chemical fertilizers because of a lack of nutrients in the soil, Deebah said.

Date palms are the main crop in Al Ain with each plant needing 50 to 100 kilograms of compost during the season.

Vegetable and fruit are the other prominent crops.

"About 20 to 50 kilograms of compost is used for a fruit plant," Deebah added.

450-500

tonnes of organic fertilizer per month produced from garbage

800-1200

tonnes of garbage per day collected from Al Ain city

Dh250

per tonne is the price of organic fertilizer

Box

Numbers

450- 500 tonnes of organic fertilizer per month produced from garbage

800-1200 tonnes of garbage per day collected from Al Ain city.

Dh 250 per tonne is the price of organic fertilizer

Dh 125 per tonne, price subsidized by the municipality for local farmers

By Binsal Abdul Kader

© Gulf News 2010. All rights reserved.

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