Composting in Sri Lanka: Policies, Practices, Challenges, and Emerging Concerns

Abstract

Compost is a widely accepted organic fertiliser throughout the world. It is being produced using a wide variety of source materials at household to commercial scale. With the increased population and changes in food consumption pattern tending towards a vegetable- and meat-rich diet, the amount of organic waste generated in urban and peri-urban settings has increased. Many governments promote composting as a process that helps them to reduce the volume of organic waste and recycle nutrients back to croplands. Some examples of organic waste accumulated in large scale include household waste from urban and peri-urban settings, sewage, animal farm waste, agricultural waste from large-scale markets, food debris, and kitchen waste from hotels. The composition of compost varies in a wide range depending on the nature of materials used to produce it. The safety concerns related to compost also vary along the same line. The quality of compost has become a subjective term that means different aspects to different bodies due to a lack of commonly agreed standards to regulate the composting process and the final product itself. Recent research findings indicate that compost can serve as a carrier of potentially toxic trace elements, organic pollutants, and determinants of antimicrobial resistance to the environment and along the food chain. Producing good-quality compost safe to human health and the environment at large has become a challenge that should be addressed at various levels: from production to policymaking. This chapter discusses some of the major challenges faced in Sri Lanka with compost making. To prepare the background for this discussion, information on the policies and current practices of nutrient management in Sri Lanka is also presented. The context may be applicable to many other developing countries in the tropics.