Chemistry: fertilizers – Processes and products – Bacterial
Patent
1996-03-27
1998-01-20
Lander, Ferris
Chemistry: fertilizers
Processes and products
Bacterial
71 23, 71 24, C05F 904
Patent
active
057097291
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
This application has been filed under 35 USC 371 and claims benefit of the filing date of International Application PCT/AU94/00577, filed on Sep. 27, 1994, published as WO95/09138 Apr. 6, 1995.
This invention relates to recovery and treatment of green organic material for use in the formulation and production of growing mixtures and/or soil substitutes.
By "green organic material" is meant plant material having been discarded as non-putrescible waste and includes tree and shrub cuttings and prunings, grass clippings, leaves, garden, waste, natural (untreated) timber waste and weeds (noxious or otherwise). In this respect it is standard practice for green organic material to be initially reduced in particle size by using chipping or grinding apparatus.
The increasing need for responsible environmental management of landfill sites means that most local Government instrumentalities are finding that landfill sites are being located further away from populated areas, and are costing considerably more to operate, monitor and control. As a consequence, transfer stations are being developed in many urban areas. Waste is collected at transfer stations and then transported to landfill sites. With the advent of transfer stations as a method of waste management, the need for waste minimization and recycling methods has become greater. Unless the additional waste management costs of constructing transfer stations, new landfill sites and transportation of waste is offset by a reduction in the existing solid waste stream, the only outcome that can be expected is a corresponding sharp increase in charges for waste disposal.
Many administrative bodies in Australia have recognized green organic material as being a substantial component of the municipal solid waste stream and have attempted several waste minimization and/or recycling methods. Industrial chippers and shredders have been used to reduce the volume of green organic material down to much smaller particle sizes. The processing costs associated with this method has generally been matched by the savings in actual waste disposal costs to the landfills.
Additionally some local Government instrumentalities have tried to sell or otherwise dispose of the processed green organic material as a garden mulch and/or used the material within their own Parks and Garden departments.
Whilst this attempt at recycling of green organic material appears to be innovative there is a now a realisation that there is a high likelihood of potential environmental hazards caused by the probability of infestation of green organic material with pathogenic microorganisms, insects, parasitic fungi and weed seeds. If the green organic material is processed by grinding and/or shredding into mulch then the parasitic fungi and pathogens can multiply at a great rate because of the supply of additional nutrient brought about through the breaking down of the plant material. Accordingly it is essential that the processed green organic material is treated in some way to destroy the pathogens, insects, fungi and weed seeds to enable the use of the mulch in other areas without the spreading of disease and weed infestation. Otherwise there is a likelihood of severely retarding existing plant growth and plant life through the introduction of a mulch produced from untreated green organic material.
Attempts have been made to compost green organic material and market the treated product as a mulch. This method has proved expensive to implement and operate and the market potential for sales of the composted garden mulch at a cost recovery price is very low.
Limited statistics are available on the volume of green organic material in the metropolitan area of Melbourne which can be assumed to be similar to that in other capital cities and suffice to say that there are significant quantities of green organic material available as a source material for the production of plant growing mixtures and media.
The objective of the present invention is to utilize all types of green organic material that is currently availabl
REFERENCES:
K.A. Handrick, Composting--Making Soil Improver from Rubbish, pp. 1-8 (1993). No month.
Environmental and Resource Technology Holdings Pty. Ltd.
Lander Ferris
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