AGRICULTURAL WASTE TO WEALTH

Agriculture is the basis of all livelihood in the earth. It is not the occupation, but the culture and
livelihood of the people throught out the world. As it is the oldest occupation done since ,it is
continued because without food living organisms cannot survive. Plants produce their own food
with the help of sunlight, other living organisms depend on plants or other organisms for their
survival. As we humans depend partially on plants and partially on animals for our food. While
depend on these things for food , we eat only small part of the produce of the plants and animals.
Others left and sometimes throw out as WASTE.

Waste is not a waste until its wasted

As the world population increased day by day, our consumption increases while waste also
increases. Especially for the developing countries like India , this waste creates so much
problems. Wastes are dumped in garbage and the heaps of garbage makes these places
disgusting. Then these places became a source of pollution and also incidence of many diseases.

India with its varied agro climatic zones is amenable to grow a wide variety of food crops and
horticultural products. These crops form a significant part of the total agricultural produce in the
country comprising of cereals, pulses, cotton, fruits, vegetables, root and tuber crops, flowers,
ornamental plants, medicinal and aromatic plants, spices, condiments, plantation crops and
mushroom. After attaining independence in 1947, major emphasis was laid on achieving self
sufficiency in food production. Development of high yielding wheat varieties and high
production technologies and their adoption in areas of assured irrigation paved the way towards
food security ushering in green revolution in the sixties. It, however, gradually became clear that
horticultural crops for which the Indian topography and agro climates are well suited are an ideal
option of achieving sustainability of small holdings, increasing employment, improving
environment, providing an enormous export potential and above all achieving nutritional
security. As a result, emphasis on diversification to horticultural crops was given since last one
decade or so.

The agriculture sector in India contributes about 17 percent of country’s GDP and provides
employment to approximately two third of the population. However, its potential has not been
tapped due to underdevelopment of the food sector in India. The single most important challenge
facing the country is providing remunerative prices to farmers for their products without
incurring the additional burden of subsidy through minimum support prices or other such
measures. The challenge could be addressed if cereals, fruits, vegetables, milk, fish, meat and
poultry etc. are processed for consumption in the domestic and international markets. There are
various issues to be dealt with in utilizing the opportunities for agribusiness industry.
Current agricultural food grain production .estimates of 277.49 million tonnes respectively. In
that nearly 1500 lakh tones are created as agro waste.
Agricultural wastes are defined as the residues from the growing and processing of raw
agricultural products such as fruits, vegetables, meat, poultry, dairy products, and crops. They
are the non-product outputs of production and processing of agricultural products that may
contain material that can benefit man but whose economic values are less than the cost of
collection, transportation, and processing for beneficial use.
Agricultural waste otherwise called agro-waste is comprised of animal waste (manure, animal
carcasses), food processing waste (only 20% of maize is canned and 80% is waste), crop waste
(corn stalks, sugarcane bagasse, drops and culls from fruits and vegetables, prunings) and
hazardous and toxic agricultural waste (pesticides, insecticides and herbicides, etc).
Agricultural development is usually accompanied by wastes from the irrational application of
intensive farming methods and the abuse of chemicals used in cultivation, remarkably affecting
rural environments in particular and the global environmental in general

As agriculture is the backbone of the Indian economy, our contribution of agricultural products is
more to the other countries of the world. This also result in the huge production of agricultural
waste. As our Indian farmers are mostly unaware of the waste recycling technologies, crop
stubbles , trashes etc., are burnt and it cause huge air pollution. Every year, in recent times states
like Punjab ,Haryana, Uttar Pradesh paddy farmers burnt tones of rice stubbles in winter season
and it cause serious problems in Delhi ,the capital city where drivers and people face respiratory
problems. Due to this incident central government and respected state government serious rules
to farmers and even impose fines to those who do against it. For reducing this stubble burning
governments make free arrangement of trash cutting machines and disposers. But it is of no use
,because farmers don’t know the serious concern about the issue. They also don’t the recent
technologies where those stubbles can be converted to compost and other soil nutrient enriching
materials.

Some interesting facts

 India is short by 10 million tonnes of cold storage capacity due to which over 30 percent
of agricultural produce goes waste every year,
 More than 20% of produce from fields is lost to poor post-harvesting facilities and lack of
cold chain infrastructure.
 Also 10% of food grain that India produces annually is eaten by rodents.
 Only 7% of food in India is processed. The United Kingdom process +65% of its food.
Even a developing country like the Philippines processes as much as 45% of its food.
 India, the world’s second largest fruit and vegetable producer encounters a waste of close
to 25% worth of produce.

The post-harvest technologies for perishable horticulture produce serve as an effective tool for
getting better return to the produce and also help in avoiding wastage both at production site and
distribution centers, which will help in regulating the market infrastructure. Recycling of fruit
and agricultural waste is one of the most important means of utilizing it in a number of
innovative ways yielding new products and meeting the requirements of essential products
required in human, animal and plant nutrition as well as in the pharmaceutical industry.
Microbial technology is available for recycling and processing of fruit and vegetables waste and
following products can be made out of the different processes.
Efficient handling of waste is an important factor in the developmental progress of any nation
and the health of its people. Effective management of waste is now a national priority as seen
through the Swachch Bharat Mission. This seeks to sensitize every citizen, especially the young,
and make them a partner in creating a clean nation.

Generation of less waste, reuse of consumables, recycling of waste and recovery of valuable
resources from waste are considered as good practices. They help conserve valuable natural
resources and energy and also lower environmental damage caused by socio-economic
development. Thus waste management is strongly linked with the idea of sustainable
development.

Instead, it is important to view ‘waste’ as a valuable ‘resource’ that can be converted into a
variety of useful products. This process of conversion of waste to a product that can be put to
primary use can be viewed as a process of generating wealth.

In 2020 India is the most youngest population holding nation. To provide employment and
livelihood to the growing population , new start ups should be encouraged. As agricultural sector
dependency is decreasing day by day , innovative solutions and practices should be done to
attract the youngest population to the sector.
“Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot
change anything.”

For that waste management technology plays the major role. Several agricultural waste recycling
methods can give high remuneration to the players in the field.
When you think of waste, think of wealth. Yes, waste can be productively used to generate
wealth in form of energy while addressing the issues of environment.
Various components of waste have an economic value and can be recovered, reused or recycled
cost effectively.With the evolving of new startups in India, several new entrepreneurs are
coming up with the side. For eg,. VERMIGOLD , a new startup earning profit with the
production of vermicompost. Likewise new budding entrepreneurs should focus on this
agricultural waste recycling technologies.

WASTE MANAGEMENT

In India waste management practice depend upon actual waste generation, primary storage,
primary collection, secondary collection and transportation, recycling activity, Treatment and
disposal.
Waste management is the collection, transport, processing, recycling or disposal, and monitoring
of waste materials. Concern over environment is being seen a massive increase in recycling
globally which has grown to be an important part of modern civilization. There is a growing
realization of the negative impacts that wastes have had on the local environment (air, water,
land, human health etc.).

Waste management that leads to generation of substances and products that can be put to primary
use is an emerging major sector for employment to meet the livelihood needs of the vast majority
of India’s rapidly growing population. Given the magnitude of waste generated, innovative waste
conversion processes can create micro-entrepreneurship opportunities on a massive scale.

In India, the potential of waste to wealth enterprise is very high. Currently not enough has been
done. Increasing opportunities for this enterprise can have manifold advantages. It can bring
back useless, discarded waste products into economic use and lead to
1. Reduction of pressure induced by waste on the environment;
2. Creation of opportunities for income and employment generation in a relatively new area
thereby enhance economic activity; and
3. Impact quality of life

The challenge posed by waste and its impact on environment and health;
 how day-to-day activities generate waste;
 classification of different types of waste and mechanisms for their disposal;
 concept of 5R: Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Recover;
 hazards posed to health and environment and safety measures to be adopted in handling
waste;
 innovative processes that generate products from waste creating wealth;
 the scope of livelihood generation through entrepreneurship.

Methods of agricultural waste management

The bio-degradable waste can be processed using biological (bio-chemical) conversion by

Composting or biomethanation. Composting will yield bio-fertilizer commonly known as city
compost useful as a soil conditioner, whereas Biomethanation will yield biogas as its output
which can be used for production of electricity and heat/ light.
Dry/Combustible waste can be processed through thermal processing (waste to energy) which
includes Incineration, Gasification and Pyrolysis. The output could be electricity which can be
sold to electricity distribution companies at a set tariff

 Composting

Composting involves the breakdown of organic waste by microorganisms in the presence of air,
heat and moisture. This can be carried out on a small scale in households or on a large scale
depending upon the quantity of waste to be processed and space available. Bacteria, fungi and
actinomycetes act upon the waste to convert it into sugars, starch, and organic acids which in
turn, are acted upon by high-temperature loving bacteria, resulting in a stable product called City
Compost

1.The economic benefits of compost use include improved soil condition, enhanced water
retention capacity of soil, increased biological activity, micronutrient content, and improved pest
resistance of crops.

2. Composting minimizes or avoids GHG emissions from waste.

3. Compost is useful as organic manure; it contains macronutrients (nitrogen, phosphorous, and

potassium) as well as micronutrients. When used in conjunction with chemical fertilizers,
optimum results are obtained.

4.Reduces dependency on chemical fertilizers

5. Compost can be used to revitalize impoverished soils and waste lands.

6. Compost may also be used as a bio matrix in remediation of chemical contaminants and as a
remediated soil in contaminated sites where it helps in binding heavy metals and other
contaminants, reducing leachate and bio-absorption

A succession of microbial growth and activity among the bacteria, fungi, actinomycetes, yeasts,
etc. takes place during the process, whereby the environment created by one community of
microorganisms encourages the activity of a successor group. Different types of microorganisms
are therefore active at different times and locations within the windrow depending upon the
availability of substrate, oxygen supply, and moisture content of the organic matter.

Thermophilic Stage- Heat Generation (Sanitization)

Mesophilic Stage

Curing Stage

 Vermi compost

Vermicompost (or vermin-compost) is the product of the composting process using various
species of worms, usually red wigglers, white worms, and other earthworms, which feed in
mixture of decomposing vegetable or food waste, and release droppings called vermi cast (also
called worm castings, worm humus or worm manure) is the end-product of the breakdown of
organic matter by an earthworm
Eg. Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Processing capacity: 20 TPD

 Pit or trench Composting

Pit or trench Composting is the process of burying organic waste directly into soil. Trenching is
an excellent method to use in combination with growing annual plants, especially plants like
cabbage, corn etc. It also encourages the development of deep, water conserving root systems.
Trenching utilizes anaerobic (without oxygen) decomposition to create an underground band of
nutrient-rich humus for plants. This is a slower composting process than that occurs in a well-
managed windrow, but the trenched materials will retain more nitrogen during the process.

 Mechanized Organic Waste Composter

Mechanized Organic Waste Composter are designed to make composting easy and convenient.
Mechanized OWC’s are fully automatic and have very compact and aesthetic design. OWCs are
equipped with intuitive technology which maintains the right temperature, air flow and moisture.
A special bacteria which is heat, salt and acid resistant is used. Once the bacteria are introduce in
machine they reproduce at a rapid pace under ideal internal conditions.
Eg Project Details:
 Owned by: Infosys, Bangalore
Technology, Installation and Commissioning by: Excel Industries Limited
Operated by: Vennar Organic, Bangalore (fully outsourced)

 Owned by: Thrissur Municipal Corporation (TMC)

Technology, Installation and Commissioning by: Excel Industries Limited
Operated by: M-Way Consultants Kerala (fully outsourced)

 Biomethanation

Biomethanation is the anaerobic (in the absence of free oxygen) fermentation of biodegradable
matter in an enclosed space under controlled conditions of temperature, moisture, pH, etc. The
waste mass undergoes decomposition due to microbial activity, thereby generating biogas
comprising mainly of methane and carbon dioxide (CO2), and also digested sludge, which is
stabilized but may contain some pathogens. Due to the anaerobic environment, hydrogen sulfide
(H2S) is generated with varying percentage depending on the Sulphur content in the system (in
the form of protein, sulphate, etc.). Like composting, biomethanation is one of the most
technically viable options for Indian municipal solid waste (MSW) due to the presence of high
organic and moisture content.

1.The produced biogas can be used for cooking or for the production of electricity and heat/light.
2. Biomethanation of biodegradable organic material would result in stabilized sludge which can
be used as a soil conditioner and fertilizer.
3. Ideal for waste with high moisture content.

Biomethanation Process
Process Description: Generally the overall process can be divided into four stages:
1. Pre-treatment
2. Anaerobic Fermentation
3. Collection of biogas and its usage
4. Residue Treatment

Eg

 Bio-Methanation Plant
Sholapur Municipal Corporation
Processing Capacity: 300 TPD MSW
Installed Power Generation Capacity: 3 MW

 Pune Municipal Corporation

Biogas Generation Capacity: 300 m3 /day

 Nisargruna Plant, Shatabdi Hospital Site at Govandi, Mumbai Processing capacity: 2

TPD

 Incineration
Incineration is a waste treatment process that involves combustion of waste at very high
temperatures in the presence of oxygen and results in the production of ash, flue gas, and heat.
Incineration is a feasible technology for combustion of unprocessed or minimum processed
refuse and for the segregated fraction of high calorific value waste.

Eg
 Narela-Bawana Plant
North Delhi Municipal Corporation
Processing Capacity: 2000 MT
Power Generation: 24 MW
 Jabalpur Waste to Energy Plant
Jabalpur Municipal Corporation
Processing Capacity: 600 MT
Power Generation: 11.5 MW

 Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF)

RDF typically consists of the residual dry combustible fraction of the MSW including paper,
textile, rags, leather, rubber, non-recyclable plastic, jute, multilayered packaging and other
compound packaging, cellophane, thermocol, melamine, coconut shells, and other high calorific
fractions of MSW.
The suitability of RDF for use as a fuel or resource is dependent on certain parameters of the
constituent waste:
• Calorific value;
• Water content;
• Ash content;
• Sulphur content; and
• Chlorine content.
The required specific composition and characteristics of RDF for fuel or co-processing will be
determined by the kind of boiler/furnace, temperatures achieved in the furnace, and the
associated flue gas management systems.

Eg
 Co-processing of Segregated Plastic Waste
An Initiative of Jabalpur Municipal Corporation and ACC–Holcim

These byproducts play a major role in sustainable agriculture . Due to the use of more chemicals,
our land fertility drastically reduced. To sustain that, these waste recycling should be promoted.

Organic Agriculture: With greater sensitivity to issues related to sustainable development,

agro-ecological farming methods are gaining in popularity. These rely on ecological processes to
sustain the health of soil as well as treating farming as an integrated, holistic, interconnected
process of food production by optimizing the farm in design and closely knit nutrient and
resource recycling. Instead of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, compost, green manure and
bone meal are key ingredient in organic farming and also on non-chemical modes of pest and
disease control, . Consciousness towards healthy lifestyle has seen organic farm production and
trade emerging as an important sector in India as in other parts of the developing world.

Bio-fuels: Another important direction in bid for sustainability is use of bio-fuels from biomass
or bio-waste. Biogas production is a clean low carbon technology for conversion of organic
waste into clean renewable biogas and a source of organic fertilizer. Biogas obtained by
anaerobic digestion of cattle dung and other loose and leafy organic matter/ wastes can be used
as energy source for cooking, lighting, refrigeration, electricity generation and transport
applications Biomass materials used for power generation include bagasse, rice husk, straw,
cotton stalk, coconut shell, soya husk, deoiled cakes, coffee waste, jute waste, groundnut shells,
saw dust etc Applications range from use of bio-fuel in rural/urban kitchens to grid power
generation to meet varied energy demands of a sugar mill, an entire village and even a smart city.
This is an industry that attracts an investment of Rs. 600 crore every year, generating more than
5000 million units of electricity and yearly employment of more than 10 million man-days in
rural areas. Maharashtra leads by example generating about 1220 MW of Biomass power

Microbial technologies have emerged to produce high-value bioorganic low-cost farm-inputs.

Using microbial bioconversion processes that play key role in producing value added farm inputs
and finding out application of the products at farmer’s field for the production of high value
crops especially commercial crops like vegetables, fruits, flowers and organic crops may increase
livelihood security among the rural communities and at the same time, may enrich soils with
good organic matters.
There have been a variety of policy responses to the problem of urban solid waste in India,
especially over the past few years, yet sustainable solutions either of organic or inorganic waste
remains untapped and unattended. For developing countries, recycling of waste is the most
economically viable option available both in terms of employment generation for the urban poor
with no skills and investment. All policy documents as well as legislation dealing with urban
solid waste mention or acknowledge recycling as one of the ways of diverting waste, but they do
so in a piece-meal manner and do not address the framework needed to enable this to happen.
Critical issues such as industry responsibility, a critical paradigm to enable sustainable recycling
and to catalyze waste reduction through, say better packing, have not been touched upon.
Recycling of only some types of materials like plastics, paper and metals is not enough. Many
types of new materials mainly used for packaging are not, or indeed cannot be, recycled in the
low-end technology being employed. Besides, there are serious issues of poor occupational
safety provisions of the waste pickers as well as workers.

Government initiatives

Responsibility of the Ministry of Fertiliser

Market development assistance for city compost; co-marketing of compost with chemical
fertilisers in the ratio of 3 to 4 bags: 6 to 7 bags by fertiliser companies.
Responsibility of the Ministry of Fertiliser
Provide flexibility in Fertiliser Control Order for manufacturing and sale of compost;
Assist in testing of compost; Guidelines for quality control of
compost; and Guidelines for compost : Fertiliser ratio
Ministry of Power
Procurement of 100% power produced from Waste-to-Energy plants. Due to lack of cost
benchmark, project specific tariff determination for waste to energy project
Assistance of 1,500 INR per ton on sale of compost by the GoI Task Force on waste to energy

On taking these initiatives , new startsups should come forward to employ larger population in
these sectors.
It is suffice to say that we require a more stringent integrated and strategic waste prevention
framework to effectively address wastage related issues. There is an urgent need to build upon
existing systems instead of attempting to replace them blindly with models from developed
countries.
To prevent any epidemic and to make each city a healthy city-economically and
environmentally, there is an urgent need for a well-defined strategic waste management plan and
a strong implementation of the same in India. To achieve financial sustainability, socio-economic
and environmental goals in the field of waste management, there is a need to systematically
analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the community as well as the municipal corporation,
based on which an effective waste management system can be evolved with the participation of
various stakeholders in India. The public apathy can be altered by awareness building campaigns
and educational measures..
All these above said suggestions are given in relation to India and will be effective only when we
individually feel the responsibility of making environment clean. As general public, we can not
do much in policy and regulations formulation, adoption of newer technologies related to
recycling and other waste

What needs to be done ?

• Composting should be a legal requirement

• Compost marketing must be pro-active

• Cities must use their own composts for their parks, gardens and public buildings.

• No Sales Tax on soil bio-enricher products

• Investor-friendly policies like BOOT

• National Agriculture Policy to use compost

.Problems in waste management

 Lack of segregation at source

 Difficulty in segregating waste at a centralised point – transfer
 Station or at the treatment plant
 Lagged Dry/Wet waste collection system, resulting
 ‘wet-waste’ was left to rot – odour problem
 Wet waste mixed with dry waste creates problem of higher
 Leachate generation at the disposal site

Approaches to solve
 System to collect segregated waste
 Collection charges to impart ownership of services
 Generate awareness
 Reduce transportation cost

Waste management is our responsibility. While we advocate that the sector is growing, the
sustainability of the sector is only dependent on our responsible attitude and behaviour towards
managing our waste.
The waste management sector as a whole is changing in India and people, business houses and
the government are gradually taking steps which should have been taken a decade back.
we
CONCLUSION

Changing perspective: Waste to wealth

Waste management has been a social service; however, given the necessity of sector efficiencies,
the sector has now picked pace with new ideas and smarter/comprehensive system with adequate
risk assessment and risk sharing between stakeholders with the private sector in particular. The
recent policy changes with openings to new technologies, as well GoI’s approach to evaluate and
validate newer technologies is a definite positive step to the waste management sector.

Waste can be a liability, but it can also be wealth—the way it is looked upon is the difference
that defines our approach towards waste management.
We must become the change we want to see

The emerging market in the waste management sector is attributed to factors related to the
demand and supply gap for services, segment and acceptability of new technologies to serve,
improvements in the government policies, improvement in the institutional capacities to host
such projects, market for products and co-products, and the improved investment climate
towards the waste management sector in general.