SOLID WASTE AND AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT IN SCHOOL INTRODUCTION
Activities in the school generate solid waste, semi-solid waste and sewage sludge which are gathered and heaped up as refuse dump make life uncomfortable both by emitting offensive odour and forming an ugly sight. Solid wastes, sewage sludge and domestic septage may be applied to the land as soil conditioners and organic fertilizers, incinerated and disposed of or deposited in land fills.
This chapter will acquaint us with various solid wastes generated in schools, their chemical constituents/health implications as well as appropriate technological treatment and applications in agricultural development. Its aim is the identification of solid waste in school environment, evaluation of effects of solid wastes generated in the school system; presentation of sustainable management of wastes the school system, maintenance of a cleaner, healthier school environment and production of economically useful by product from waste management practices.
DEFINITION OF SOLID WASTE
Solid wastes are defined as non liquid objects normally discarded as rubbish, solid wastes in school comprise food materials, wet stuff from gutter clearing, food packages from fields, farms, gardens and hedges, discarded clothing, rags metallic packaging, ice creams wraps, septages from toilet systems and other dry materials not required for use e.g old lockers, among others.
(A) Organic: Approximately 5% of the total solid found in solid organic wastes are organic. Human wastes constitute a major solid organic waste. Others are surfactant such as soaps and synthetic detergents, phenol, trace amounts of pesticides, herbicides: medical and cosmetic chemicals left over foods and foods destroyed during storage by pests. Decomposition of organics in land application systems occur within the microbial active zone in the soil profile. The population of microbes responds quickly to organic loads on the soil system. In decomposing readily biodegradable organic, microbes can generate an impermeable layer within the top inch of soil. This biological clogging is a function of the waste organic material and the pore spaces in the receiving soil. Data linking organic loading soil porosity, and clogging suggest that soils have a remarkably high ability to assimilate organics as long as aerobic conditions are avoided.
Emeka Jilly Ejiowhor
