FEASIBILITY AND ACTION PLAN FOR COMPOSTING OPERATION
INCORPORATING APPROPRIATE TECHNOLOGY AT RIVERTON
DISPOSAL SITE, KINGSTON, JAMAICA
Preston S. Pendley
A REPORT
In partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of
MASTER OF SCIENCE IN ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING
0Preston S . Pe~~dley
2005
This report "Feasibility and Action Plan for Composting Operation Incorporating Appropriate
Technology at Riverton Disposal Site, Kingston, Jamaica" is hereby approved in partial
fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE IN
ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING.
Civil and Environmental Engineering
Master's International Program
Report Adviser
James R. Mihelcic
Department Chair
C. Robert Baillod
Date
PREFACE
1.
Master's International Program
In 1987, the Un~tedStates Peace Corps created a graduate study program called Master's
international (MI). Through the MI Program, students can earn a Master's degree in any of a
number of disciplines that matched Peace Corps sectors, such as Forestry, Public Health,
Environmental Engineering, and Business Development, to name a few (US Peace Corps,
2005). Currently over 40 colleges and universities are MI 'Paflner Schools', including Michigan
Tech with MI programs in Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE), Forestry, and the newest
program in Mit~gationof Natural Geological Hazards. MI students are currently serving in each
of the 71 countries where Peace Corps has active programs. The Michigan Tech CEE program
has eleven Returned Volunteers and eighteen current Volunteers who have servedlare serving
in BeJrze, Cameroon, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Jamaica, Kenya. Mali, Mauritania,
Macedonla, Madagascar, Panama, Philippines, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu (Michigan Tech, 2005).
Peace Corps (PC) was founded on March I , 1961 with one of the first Executive Orders of
President John F. Kennedy.
Over 170,000 citizens have served in 136 foreign countries
through the Peace Corps (Peace Corps, 2005). The goals of the Peace Corps are three fold:
(1) to promote understanding of the USA in other countries through the presence of the
Volunteers, (2) to promote understanding of foreign cultures through the Returned Volunteers,
and (3) to increase the technical skills of citizens in developing countries that choose to host
Peace Corps.
After completing graduate coursework, usually 2-3 semesters, at the partner school, the student
enters Peace Corps. Following a training period in the host country with a group of other
trainees, he is sworn in as a Volunteer and begins a two-year service with a host country
community-based organization, non-government organization or government agency. A project
or several projects In that service will be developed into a Master's report, which she will defend
post-service at the partner schooJ. In the agreement between the partner school and Peace
Corps, the school promises that the Volunteer will have some expertise in the sector, and the
Peace Corps promises that the Volunteer w ~ lbe
l placed in an assignment where a project can
be developed in the Volunteer's field of study and expertise.
2.
Personal Assignment: Peace Corps Jamaica (PCJ)
Jamaica first received Peace Corps Volunteers in 1962, making it one of the first countries to
establish PC programs. The relationship between US Peace Corps and the Government of
Jamaica is uninterrupted for over 40 years now, allowing some 3,348 volunteers to serve.
(Peace Corps, 2005).
PCJ maintains sectors in Environmental Promotion, At-Risk Youth, HIVIAIDS, IT, Small
Business, and Community Environmental Health (CEH) with 100+ volunteers currentiy in
service. Following a 7-week training program with 18 other volunteers in the CEH sector, I was
placed at the head office of the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) in
Kingston.
3.
Composting facility and Riverton Disposal Site
R~vertonDisposal Site, outside Kingston, is one of seven official disposal sites in Jamaica. It
receives approximately 60°A of collected solid waste on the island, serving approximately the
same percentage of the population. While working with the Planning and Research Department
of the NSWMA, I helped develop materials to promote home composting, participated in public
relations events, and compiled data for a study to raise the efficiency of collection routes and
street sweeping contracts. My primary project, which is the focus of this report, was performing
a feasibility study and developirlg an action plan for municipal level composting at the Riverton
Disposal Site.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
SECTION
PAGE NUMBER
PREFACE
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF ACRONYMS
LIST OF FIGURES
LIST OF TABLES
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
iii
v
vii
viii
ix
x
ABSTRACT-
xii
SECTION I - INTRODUCTIONp
SECTION 2 - BACKGROUND
lntro to Jamaica
History
Economy
Major Problems
Population
1
3
3
3
4
5
5
SECTION 3 - SOLID WASTE
GDP indicators of solid waste
Waste generation research
NSW MA history
Perceptions and limitations
Riverton
Recycling
9
10
12
14
18
SECTION 4 - COMPOSTINGp
Internal process
Technologies for large-scale approach
Parameters of a large-scale facility
Bans on yard waste in developed countries
Composting in Jamaica
20
20
22
23
23
24
SECTION 5 - ORGANIC WASTE RESEARCHSources and quantities for Riverton
Compost pilot and market waste characterization
Markets
Parks
Agro-processors
Caymanas Horse Park
Other commercial sources
Abbatoirs
Sewage sludge
Residential Waste
27
27
30
34
37
38
38
39
40
41
42
6
6
SECTION
PAGE NUMBER
SECTION 6 - FEASIBILITY AND ACTION PLAN
Appropriate technologies
Options for large-scale
Choice of mechanized equipment
Pre-processing
Wood waste
Sorting
End-use of compost
Overall plan for Riverton
Capital costs and site planning
Operation costs
Cornposting operations
43
43
43
44
45
45
46
47
47
47
58
62
SECTION 7 - END-USE AS COVER MATERIAL
Literature review on compost-as-cover
Cover material as NSWMA disposal sitesBenefits of compost-as-cover
65
65
66
66
APPENDICES
Cornposting equipment vendors
Pile monitoring record sheet
Agro-waste data sheet
Further Research
70
71
72
73
REFERENCES
74
ADC
--
Alternate Daily Cover
APCD -
Associate Peace Corps Director
GDSS --
Garbage Disposal and Sanitation Systems, Inc.
GNI
--
Gross National Index
GOJ
-
Government of Jamaica
IDB
-
lnterarnerican Development Bank
KIA
--
Kingston Industrial Agency
KMA
--
Kingston Metropolitan Area
KSAC -MI
-
Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation
Master's lnternational
MoLG -
Ministry of Local Government
MPM
Metropolitan Parks and Markets
-
MSW -MTU
-
Mixed Solid Waste
Michigan Technological University
NEPA -
National Environment and Planning Agency
NEPM -
Northeast Parks and Markets
NPI
Natural Products Institute
-
NRAES --
Natural Resource, Agriculture, and Engineering Service
NSWMA -
National Solid Waste Management Authority
NWC
--
National Water Commission
P&R
--
Planning and Research Department (NSMWA)
PEU
-
Project Executing Unit
RFL
--
Recycle for Life
RRR
--
Recycling and Resource Recovery
SPM
-
Southern Parks and Markets
STATIN -UWI
-
WPM -
Statistical institute of Jamaica
University of the West lndies
Western Parks and Markets
US$1 = J$60
1 tonne = 1.1 ton
1 kilogram = 2.2 pounds
1 cc;b meter = 1.27 cub yds
100 kg I day = 36.5 tons 1 yr
LIST OF FIGURES
Number
Name
Page No.
2.1
Relief map of Jamaica
3
2.2
Jamaican Flag and Coat of Arms
4
3.1
Residential waste characterization for Kingston Metropolitan Area (KMA)
10
3.2
Wastesheds of Ja~na~ca
12
3.3
Waste in gullies in Kingston
13
3.4
Dumping waste in gullies in Kingston
14
3.5
Kingston fload Map
16
3.6
Waste generation by source sector at Riverton
17
4.1
Elements of a compost pile
4.2
Microbial populat~onsir. a compost pile
5.1
Photo of compost pilot area at Riverton
5.2
Placing the water tank in the compost pilot area at Riverton
5.3
Cleansing of Coronation Market
Aerator attachment for a tractor turning a windrow
Windrow turnerlaerator {attachment only) from Brown Bear
JPSCo employs two Asplundh chippers with roving teams in the KMA
Elevation of proposed facility
Plan view of proposed facility
Detail of buck wall deslgn
Bimetal thermometer to measure core temperature
Shape of windrow
Plan view of the operations area
Spray bar watering windrow during turninglaeration