Waste

• Agriculture produces an average of 23.7 million food tons per day worldwide (FAO, 2017)
• It is predicted to reach 9 billion by 2050 and to 11 billion by 2100 respectively (Koops and van Leeuwen, 2017)
• A significant rise in the livestock as well as crop production, which has further contributed towards generation of agricultural wastes (AWs) (Boserup, 1975; Tripathi et al., 2019)
• Agricultural waste


  Waste generated from planting or harvesting of crops, trimming or pruning of plants and wastes or run-off materials from farms or fields
• Agricultural waste includes


  • Crops
  • Orchards
  • Vineyards
  • Livestock operations
  • Farms
• Agricultural waste includes


  • Food spoils
  • Trees pruned
  • Fields cultivated
  • Produce picked
  • Animals produce manure
  • Chemicals used
• Agricultural waste


  Unwanted waste produced as a result of agricultural activities (i.e., manure, oil, silage plastics, fertilizer, pesticides and herbicides; wastes from farms, poultry houses and slaughterhouses; veterinary medicines, or horticultural plastics)
• Farm waste management


  The discipline associated with the control of generation, storage, collection, transfer and transport, processing and disposal of wastes in a manner that is in accordance with best principles of public health, economics, engineering, conservation, aesthetic and other environmental considerations
• Farm waste management


  All administrative, financial, legal planning and engineering functions involved in the whole spectrum of solution to problems of waste caused thrust upon the community by its inhabitants
• According to the United Nations Development Program (1998), world economic activity has grown by 3% per year since 1950 and if this trend continues, total world output will be five times larger than it is today by 2050, requiring a second planet to accommodate it if ecological burdens remain the same
• 500 million people exist on marginal lands, already incapable of feeding them
• 30% of the population in developing countries lack access to safe drinking water, and 2 million die every year from associated diseases. Over 90% of all wastewater in the developing world is untreated
• 11 million poor agricultural workers suffer from pesticide poisoning annually
• Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015

  • 8 Goals
  • 21 Targets
  • 60 indicators
• Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

  • 17 Goals
  • 169 Targets
  • 230 Indicators

  
• Agriculture has a significant effect on greenhouse gas emissions, land use change, biodiversity loss, freshwater consumption, and nutrient cycles
• In the U.S, environmental laws are enforced by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
• In the Philippines, environmental laws are enforced by the Department of Environmental and Natural Resources (DENR)
• Philippine enabling laws enhancing the utilization of agricultural waste and sustainable development

  • RA 8749 (Clean Air Act of 1999)
  • RA 9003 (Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000)
  • RA 9275 (Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004)
  • RA 9367 (Biofuels Act of 2006)
  • RA 6969 (Toxic Substances and Hazardous and Nuclear Wastes Control Act of 1990)
  • RA 9513 (Renewable Energy Act of 2008)
  • RA 9729 (Climate Change Act of 2009)
  • RA 10068 (Organic Agriculture Act of 2010)
• The DENR will provide initial funding of P300,000 to the Tarlac College of Agriculture to develop training modules and perform other roles and responsibilities related to agricultural waste management
• The National Solid Waste Management Commission (NSWMC), chaired by the DENR, has approved a resolution imposing stricter law enforcement against the open burning of solid and agricultural wastes and providing alternative means of waste disposal across the country
• Agricultural Waste Management Conservation Practice Standards

  • Waste Storage Facility
  • Animal Mortality Facility
  • Composting Facility
  • Waste Treatment Lagoon
  • Anaerobic Digester
  • Roofs and Covers
  • Waste Treatment
  • Waste Transfer
  • Vegetated Treatment Area
  • Constructed Wetland
• Other practice standards include Closure of Waste Impoundments, Roof Runoff Management, and Nutrient Management
• Soil


  • Heterogeneous material made up of solids, liquids, and gases that come together in a matrix for living organisms
• Soil phases


  • Solid phase
  • Liquid phase
  • Gaseous phase
• Solid phase of the soil

  Consists of both minerals (such as gravel, sand, clay) and organics (such as humus, plant and animal residues)
• Liquid phase of the soil


  The soil solution and consists of water with small quantities of numerous minerals and nutrients in the solute form to transport nutrients in the soil
• Gaseous phase of the soil


  Occupies the pore space that is not filled with water
• Role of soil in AB wastes management

  • Filtration
  • Biological degradation
  • Chemical reactions
• Filtration


  The capture and subsequent degradation of manure solids in the soil matrix
• Biological degradation


  The decomposition rate of organic material in the soil is primarily controlled by the chemical and biological composition of the soil and of the organic material itself
• Chemical reactions


  • Ion exchange
  • Adsorption
  • Precipitation
  • Complexation
• Soil-manure mineralization relationship


  • Microbial activity
  • Nitrogen mineralization
  • Phosphate mineralization
  • Heavy metal and trace element mineralization
• Soil characteristics


  • Available water capacity
  • Bulk density
  • Cation exchange capacity
  • Depth to bedrock or cemented pan
  • Depth to high water table
  • Flooding
  • Fraction greater than 3 inches in diameter—rock fragments, stones, and boulders
  • Intake rate
  • Permeability rate
  • Soil pH
  • Ponding
  • Salinity
  • Slope
  • Sodium adsorption - represented by the sodium adsorption ratio (SAR)
• Manure


  An example of a by-product that can be used as a plant nutrient
• Manure management systems


  Properly planned, designed, installed, and maintained to prevent or minimize degradation of soil, water, and air resources while providing organics and chemical elements for plant growth properties and characteristics that affect soil suitability and limitations for land application of manure
• Objective of applying manure to land

  • Recycle plant nutrients contained in the manure into harvestable plant forage, fruit, or dry matter
  • Prevent manure contributions to air and water quality degradation
• Nutrient transformation processes


  • Absorption by the roots and assimilated by the plant
  • Metabolization by soil micro-organisms to become a part of the soil organic component
  • Adsorption to soil minerals or attached to soil exchange sites
  • Transportation off the field as solutes in runoff water
  • Become attached to eroding mineral or organic material
  • Leach downward through the soil toward the groundwater
  • Escape from plant tissue into the atmosphere
• Manure


  Feeds the micro-organisms that contribute to soil structure and pore space
• Essential plant nutrients


  • Macronutrients - carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, sulfur, calcium, magnesium
  • Micronutrients - boron, chlorine, cobalt, copper, iron, manganese, molybdenum, silicon, sodium, vanadium, zinc