Composting Manual for Cold Climate Countries

This manual, based on the WASH PHD developed by ACF with University of Sciences and Technology of Beijing, explores how composting applies to cold climate.

Published: 2015

Composting is defined as the controlled biological decomposition and stabilization of organic substrates under a set of factors (e.g., temperature, moisture content, carbon-nitrogen ratio, degree of aeration, pH level, and physical structure of the raw materials), which allow development of thermophilic conditions as a result of biologically produced heat. The final product should be stable, free of pathogens and plant seeds, and beneficial when applied to land as bio-fertilizer.

The composting process destroys pathogens, converts nitrogen from unstable ammonia to stable organic form, reduces the mass, volume and water content, and also improves the nature of the waste. In addition, it is not only an ‘approach’ to handling organic waste in an environmentally friendly manner, but also a way to recover resources and nutrients for sustainable development.

Composting as a sustainable sanitation approach has been widely used in managing and treating human excreta especially for developing countries due to its accessibility, low environmental pollution, low cost of operation and maintenance and significant pathogen reduction. This manual, based on the WASH PHD developed by ACF with University of Sciences and Technology of Beijing, explores how this process applies to cold climate.