Based on data from the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (Ministry of Environment and Forestry), 60% of the waste buried in landfills is organic waste.
In Indonesia, each person can produce 1.3 million tons of food waste per year.
Utilizing kitchen waste into a composter offers various benefits such as improving soil conditions, reducing gas emissions, reducing pollution, and keeping the environment clean. However, what is a composter?
It is estimated that the amount of waste will continue to increase by up to 70% in 2050 if there is no action or further action regarding handling to minimize waste. The increasing percentage of waste in landfills is dominated by organic waste at 60%, which includes food scraps.
One wise step that can be taken is a composter (composting). Composting is managing organic waste so that it does not end up in landfill.
There are several benefits you can get from composting activities, including reducing the carbon footprint of waste transport vehicles, making us more grateful for nature's natural processes, nourishing the soil and the creatures in it, reducing the risk of natural disasters (such as landslides), maintaining water and soil quality, to produce more fertile plants.
Let's make a simple composter at home, this tool helps decomposers or decomposing bacteria to break down organic material into compost in solid or liquid form quickly. How to make an independent composter is quite simple and easy.
Organic Waste Reduction Solution
Efforts to reduce organic waste that goes to landfill can start from yourself, some of these efforts include shopping for sufficient food needs, this can be helped by making a shopping list of what ingredients you will buy.
Apart from that, food waste can also be reduced by raising black soldier flies (BSF) which can convert food waste into fertilizer with high selling value.
Furthermore, the amount of organic waste that reaches the landfill can also be reduced by separating organic and inorganic waste at home and composting organic waste to make fertilizer.
Compost is the result of decomposing all the organic waste that we produce. When broken down properly, compost will function to fertilize the soil.
The composting process is carried out by various types of organisms, starting from various types of bacteria, fungi, actinomycetes and others.
However, apart from these various microbes, it turns out that this process also involves macro animals such as earthworms and various other macro animals which work together with microbes in the decomposition process.
Benefits of Composting at Home
1. Reduce the carbon footprint of waste transport vehicles
Waste transportation vehicles are one of the sources of carbon footprints on earth. Composting will reduce the amount of waste transport vehicles coming to our homes because we have made the waste we produce into compost.
2. Nourishes the Soil and the Creatures in It
Composting can also nourish the soil and the creatures in the soil because the materials we use for composting come from organic waste, for example food scraps or leaves.
3. Maintain water and soil quality
The organic content which is a composting process in the soil also helps maintain water and soil quality. Compost improves soil structure by increasing the organic matter content of the soil and will increase the soil's ability to retain soil water content.
4. Reduce the effects of greenhouse gases and climate change
Organic waste in landfills will decompose without oxygen and produce greenhouse gases, such as methane and carbon dioxide which cause climate change.
5. Produces good and fertile plants
Compost provides fertility to the soil because it provides the nutrients and minerals that plants need. The use of compost in agriculture and plantations will certainly result in higher productivity and healthier plant results.
Guide to Making a Composter
The following are some simple guidelines for making a composter that you can do, including:
Prepare tools and materials.
There are several tools and materials for making a composter, including the following:
Pipe is a basic support for compost
Markers are useful for marking holes
Saw for cutting pipe
Drill or screwdriver
Water tap and plaster
Pipe meter to measure the pipe used
Scissors
Fiber
Composter Making Process
After completely preparing the tools and materials, you can immediately enter the process of making the composter. Following are the steps:
1. Prepare a bucket as a place to make a composter and make holes around the bottom of the bucket. To make holes, you can use a screwdriver heated by wax or a drill. At a height of 9 cm from the bottom of the bucket, make 4 holes on the back, front, right and left sides of the bucket. This hole functions to insert 1/2 inch pipe.
2. Make 2 holes at the top of the bucket and parallel to the holes at the bottom of the bucket. This functions as a place to insert a half inch pipe with a height of 36 cm (depending on the size of the bucket).
3. Make 1 hole parallel to the bottom of the bucket for the water tap. Position according to your wishes, but try not to put it under the pipe hole. Because it will be difficult to turn the tap.
4. Prepare a 2 inch pipe and cut it to a length of around 38 cm (depending on the height of the bucket). This pipe is installed in the middle of the bucket and functions for aeration or getting oxygen in and out.
5. Make 4 holes on each side of the pipe at the bottom, as a place for the half inch pipe. Also make a small hole in the pipe lengthwise. Make 2 more holes to place the half inch pipe, at the top of the large pipe. Please remember that when making the hole, it must be parallel to the bucket hole at the top.
6. Prepare a half inch pipe, then cut 2 pieces 46 cm long, one pipe for the top of the bucket and one for the bottom. Make two pieces of pipe 25 cm long, which will be attached to the bottom of the bucket. This piece functions to support the filter. Keep in mind that the length is determined based on the width of the bucket. Don't forget to make small holes on various sides of the pipe.
7. Prepare the fiber and cut it into circles according to the size of the bucket. Make a 2 inch hole in the middle of the fiber as a place to enter the pipe. And make a small hole to filter the compost.
8. Insert two pipes measuring 25 cm according to the holes in the pipe and bucket. One pipe is inserted from the left, while the other is inserted from the right.
9. Place the filter you have made in the bucket.
10. Reinstall the 46 cm pipe, right above the bucket and through the 2 inch pipe hole above the bucket.
11. Install the tap in the hole you prepared previously.
12. The composter is ready to use.
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