Production of organic fertilizer from hostel food waste by composting method

Food waste is one of the issues that can cause great harm to the environment as well as to humans. Hostels in a boarding school are one of the contributors to food wastage in landfills because the food is prepared in large quantities. The main focus of this study is to convert the food waste into compost and to assess the physical and chemical properties of the compost as well as to compare the physical and chemical properties with soil. Food waste was collected from the hostel and was left to degrade for two months. The finished products produced in this research are black in colour and have an earthy smell. Three treatment of output were prepared which are T0, T1, and T2 in this study. The results obtained revealed that the concentrations of physicochemical parameters in T0, T1, and T2 were in the range of; 7.35-7.65 for pH, 0.59-1.03 g/cm3 for bulk density, 21.13-63.88% for humidity, total nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium content of 0.11-2.10%, 48.29-76.97 mg/L, and 0.88-49.33 mg/L respectively. In conclusion, the statistical tests of significance using ANOVA revealed that there were significant differences (P<0.05) between the values bulk density, moisture content, nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium in T0, T1, and T2 except for the pH.