Composting in Finland: Experiences and Perspectives

Approximately 1 million m3 of compost is produced in Finland annually. Sewage sludges and liquid animal manures are the major waste groups composted in windrows or smaller heaps. Owing to the severe odour and leachate water problems in wintertime, however, in the major cities and towns will probably shift towards closed processing in the near future. At present there are about 100 drum composters in use on Finnish farmes. With the new environmental legislation and targets set by the Ministry of the Environment, source separation of biowaste, and centralized composting as the most effective method of treating it, can be expected to expand rapidly. Approximately 3% of detached houses employ small composters and growth is likely to be small. Although many industrial waste fractions could be composted, this is only marginal in Finland.The composting process is an active area of research in Finland. Of particular interest are the compostability of different waste matrices and management of the process; quality aspects of composts, including the chemistry of biodegradation; the occupational hygiene of the process; and the composting of toxic waste fractions, particularly those containing organo chlorine aromatics.