Experimental outline
The home composting experiments were divided into three
phases. The initial phase consisted of a two-month start-up period
(mid-March to mid-May 2008) in a single composting unit to test
the analytical equipment and experimental setup in general (results
from the start-up phase are not presented here). After the
start-up phase, the waste in the composting unit was mixed, sampled,
and distributed into six equivalent units for a base load of
waste to be added for the main experiment. The main composting
phase (second phase) in the six composting units was monitored
for one year (May 2008 to May 2009). The third and last phase consisted
of a maturation phase in which no more waste was added to
the units, except for Units 4 and 5, in which additional experiments
(high-load phase) were performed for three months (June 2009 to
August 2009) to examine the effect of increased amounts of input
waste. Up to 25 kg of OHW was added every fortnight to Unit 4 and
large amounts of garden waste (around 3 kg every fortnight) was
added to Unit 5 during the high-load phase. These additional
experiments tested whether the temperature and gas emissions
were affected by increased waste input. An increased waste load
can simulate multi-family composting rather than single-family
home composting. Including the start-up phase, the composting
phase, the maturation phase, and the high-load phase, the system
was monitored for nearly two years (March 2008 to January 2010).