Nutrient Analysis of Commercial Compost and Compost Produced from Household Food Waste in Correlation to Soil Physio-chemical Properties

Abstract

Food waste is one of the concerns that can potentially affect both the environment and humanity. Household food waste was the highest contributor to food waste globally. The main focus of this study is to utilise the food waste from households into compost, assess the physical and chemical properties of compost, and compare the physical and chemical properties with soil and commercial compost. Food waste was collected from households in Pasir Mas, Kelantan area, and left to mature for 2 months. The finished products produced in this research were composted, which is black in colour and odourless or earthy odour in smell. Seven output treatments were prepared: SOIL, O1, O2, O3, P1, P2 and P3 in this research. The results of this study showed that the concentration of physical and chemical parameters in all the samples was in the range of 0.59 g/cm³ at the lowest to 1.03 g/cm³ as the highest value for bulk density, and moisture content was 21.12% - 63.88%. The highest concentration value for every experiment except the total potassium (K) experiment is dominated by sample O1, and the lowest was the sample SOIL. In conclusion, the statistical test of significance using ANOVA revealed significant differences (P<0.05) between the values of all experiments of bulk density, moisture content, N, P, and K.