The effect of chopping raw material on composting result with the biopore infiltration hole method

Abstract

This research aims to analyze the effect of chopping raw material on compost quality and quantity that was made with the biopore infiltration hole method. The composting was done in duplo on the backyard with clay soil type, and the water infiltration rate was 0.3 cm/hour. The holes were made with 10 cm of diameter, 100 cm of depth, and the distance between holes were 50 cm. There were four composition variations on this research i.e 50% yard waste and 50% food waste with and without chopping, 70% food waste and 30% yard waste with and without chopping. The chopping was using an organic waste chopping machine so that the waste size became 0.3-1.5 cm, while the size waste without chopping was ≥ 3 cm. The compost analysis was done toward maturity, compost quality (physical elements and macro elements), and compost quantity. The composting process took 65-80 days to get riped. The best variation was chosen by the scoring method. The result showed that compost with 50% yard waste and 50% food waste was the best variation because the compost quality has met the standard for physical elements and macro elements, it produced more compost quantity. The chopping process could speed up the composting time until 15 days.