Pilot community composting system completes six months of operation producing fertilizer in Visconde de Mauá

Visconde de Mauá Clean and Beautiful project
Since October 2019, a group of residents of the region has started a system for the collection of organic waste, its composting and distribution of the natural fertilizer produced.
Each month a new compost is prepared, and another (prepared five months before) is sieved, weighed and distributed.
There are always five composts in the composting mini-yard, and the product is distributed among those who gave their waste to the system, and other local people interested in growing food.

Above, external view of MUDA (Change), in Visconde de Mauá, where the community composting operation takes place.
On the right and below, the five composts become fertilizer, each one in a different phase of its own 5-month decomposition.







Collection and composting
Currently there are about 20 contributing houses, in addition to four inns, a market, two restaurants, cafeterias, pubs, the municipal school and daycare center. Dwellers interested in the project contribute to paying a pro-labore to a local resident who collects and prepares the heaps. He is the most important element of the system, together with the volunteers who keep the place organized and monitor the process.


The collection is done every Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning, bringing 80-100 kg of residues each round -- about 1.2 ton per month. This volume should be larger, but the coronavirus crisis reduced the tourism activities, closed the local school and day care center etc., reducing the amount of organic residues to be collected.






Processing and distribution
Each month, the compost prepared five months before is ready to be sieved and distributed to those who donated their organic waste and to other growers and vegetable gardens and gardens in the two villages.
In the six months of operation (26 weeks), the system has already diverted around 6 tons of organic waste from its usual destination, the garbage landfill of the city of Resende, 40 km from our region.
Each month, the amount of fertilizer is expected to increase, with the greater adhesion of donor homes and businesses.





Above, to speed up the process, this compost was turned over to let the excess moisture, caused by the torrential rains of the last few months, evaporate -- before the entire area was covered with transparent plastic.
On the right and below, the sieve used to separate only the part already decomposed to be bagged and distributed. Materials that do not pass through the sieve are taken back to the current month's compost, where they will have time to finish their humification.






Above, a bag with 45 kg of fertilizer ready to be distributed. On the right and next, first deliveries of fertilizer to urban gardeners in March 2020, when our first compost (prepared in October 2019) was ready.
In March, 300 kg of sieved fertilizer were distributed in bags of 3, 5, 15, 20 and 25 kg, as needed.








Together with the fertilizer, this mini pamphlet was delivered to remind residents that fertilizer has an indispensable role in developing a more sustainable and resilient food system, capable of ensuring fresh and affordable food even if crises such as the current one are prolonged or repeated in the future...



All over the world, awareness of the importance of urban agriculture to cope with disruptions in the food supply chain for cities grows, to reduce urban vulnerability in the face of extreme weather events, strikes in transport, civil wars and others, waves of refugees, etc., in addition to epidemics and pandemics that interrupt the food chains, from production to its commercialization.
The 22nd. Urban Agriculture Magazine's edition (translated into Portuguese in 2009) was entirely dedicated to "Building resilient cities" and analyzes case studies on how AU was decisive in reducing the effects of crises of different origins in cities around the planet.


The Visconde de Mauá Limpa and Linda project depends on the contribution of residents to pay their monthly costs (R $ 600).
You can see how these costs have been covered by visiting the control pages for the 1st. quarter (Oct-Dec 2019) and the second (Jan-Mar / 2020).
To help the community overcome the coronavirus crisis, we are donating all the fertilizer produced. But if we charged only R $ 2.00 / kg, the system would already become self-sustainable.
Your contribution can be paid into Joaquim Moura account:
Banco do Brasil. Ag. 5766-5 - c/c 974389-8 - CPF 046.669.687-68
Please inform the deposit made: jmoura@agriculturaurbana.org.br