Purpose Faecal sludge (FS) and organic market waste (MW) have resources that could be recovered by co-composting though not fully explored under changing climatic conditions in Nigeria.This study explored the characteristics and nutrient quality of co-composts produced from pre-treated FS and MW feedstocks in Nigeria.Methods The Bicycle Accessories study was exploratory and analytical in design and co-composting was purposively selected for resource-recovery.
The raw faecal sludge (FS) was harvested from septic tanks of households (50%) and institutions (50%) through mechanical evacuation service trucks and dewatered using 0.1% gradient sand filter.The biodegradable MW was sorted and used for further studies.
The dewatered FS (DFS) and MW were mixed in ratios 1:3, 1:5 and 1:7, respectively with DFS and MW as controls.Each of the mixes was made into 1m3 heap and co-composted using the windrow method.The experiments were monitored for 88 days with fortnight composite sampling from each mix (13-weeks).
The samples were analyzed for temperature, pH, moisture-contents, micronutrients, macronutrients and pollutants using Standard Methods.Results At maturity, N:P:K (%) indicate good composts at 9: 5: 4, 18: 7: 19 and 3: 3: 1 in the 1: 3, 1: 5 and 1: 7 mixes, respectively, while those of controls were: Nattokinase 19:12:12 (DFS) and 17:14:11(MW) with no significant differences between experimental and control mixes.Also, four factors extracted (pollutants, agronomic, macronutrients and micronutrients), explained 78.
2% variability.Conclusion The matured co-compost satisfied nutrients and pollutants quality for agricultural use, recovered organic fertiliser from raw domestic and institutional faecal sludge and market waste.