Composting of Yard Trimmings and MSW

Composting of Yard Trimmings and MSW

Course Outline

This six hour course provides valuable information for those individuals who design, install and operate composting systems for solid waste systems. Completion of this course will provide the student the necessary information and testing to meet the continuing education requirements in order to renew their licenses. It was designed by an instructor who has developed and implemented numerous similar training courses.

This course includes a multiple-choice quiz at the end, which is designed to enhance the understanding of the course materials.

Learning Objective

At the conclusion of this course, the student will be able to:

Understand what is composting;
Understand how composting fits into an integrated solid waste management system;
Understand the need for waste characterization;
Understand how to develop an operational plan;
Understand how to involve the community when planning a system;
Understand how establish facility ownership and management;
Understand the role of microorganisms in composting;
Understand the factors that influence the composting process;
Understand how oxygen levels affect composting;
Understand how nutrient levels can be balanced;
Understand moisture affects composting;
Understand temperature affects composting;
Understand the pH can affect composting;
Understand the factors involved in collecting yard waste;
Understand how to use public drop off sites to collect yard waste;
Understand how to use curbside collection;
Understand how to source separate municipal solid wastes;
Understand how to handle commingled municipal solid wastes;
Understand preprocessing methods;
Understand how to sort MSW;
Understand how to reduce the particle size of the wastes collected;
Understand how to properly mix waste streams;
Understand the various stages of composting;
Understand how to cure the composted material;
Understand process controls to control odor;
Understand engineering controls to control odor;
Understand the various post processing stages;
Understand siting considerations;
Understand design considerations;
Understand the environmental concerns associated with composting;
Understand occupational and health considerations of composting;
Understand Proper worker training;
Understand yard trimming and MSW composting incentives;
Understand the benefits of finished compost;
Understand potential end users of the finished compost;
Understand yard trimmings compost quality considerations;
Understand MSW compost quality considerations;
Understand compost product specifications;
Understand how to determine a market assessment;
Understand community involvement considerations;
Understand compost cost/benefit analysis;
Understand composting capital costs;
Understand composting O&M costs;
Understand training costs;
Understand composting operational considerations;
Understand permitting issues associated with a composting operation;
Understand outreach and marketing issues; and
Understand expected revenues.

Intended Audience

The intended audience for this course is any professional who is involved in the design, regulation, installation, operation or maintenance of yard trimming or solid waste treatment systems.

Benefit to Attendees

Attendees of this course will understand how to design, install or operate and maintain a composting treatment system, and will greatly reduce the learning curve for any professional.

Course Introduction

Composting has been a viable option for the treatment and consolidation of yard trimmings and municipal solid waste for a number of years. With the life span of many municipal landfills approaching their limits, ways to extend the lifespans have been sought. One of the ways many municipalities have been using is to ban yard waste and food waste from landfills. Composting has become a viable alternative. The composted material can then be used as a soil amendment and basically reused.

Course Content

This course is based upon the US EPA document “Composting Yard Trimming and Municipal Solid Waste”, EPA Document No. EPA 530-R-94-003, May 1994.

The link to the course material is as follows:

Composting Yard Trimming and Municipal Solid Waste (EPA Document No. EPA 530-R-94-003) (PDF file, 2 MB)

Please click on the above underlined hypertext to view, download or print the document for your study. Because of the large file size, we recommend that you first save the file to your computer by right clicking the mouse and choosing "Save Target As ...", and then open the file in Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Course Summary

This course discusses the elements of a composting system, provides critical system and installation information and can serve as a reference for anyone interested in becoming involved in the design and application of a composting system.

Related Links

For additional information related to this subject, please visit the following websites or web pages:

US Environmental Protection Agency

Quiz

Once you finish studying the above course content, you need to take a quiz to obtain the PDH credits.

DISCLAIMER: The materials contained in the online course are not intended as a representation or warranty on the part of PDH Center or any other person/organization named herein. The materials are for general information only. They are not a substitute for competent professional advice. Application of this information to a specific project should be reviewed by a registered architect and/or professional engineer/surveyor. Anyone making use of the information set forth herein does so at their own risk and assumes any and all resulting liability arising therefrom.