Recycling, reducing and transforming your own household or company waste are some of the suggestions made to the population by the campaign launched by the City of Curitiba. All advertising pieces have the therapist Dr. Sigmundo as the protagonist.
"Simple attitudes are enough, which do not require extra costs, but only a change of habit that must come from each citizen", explains the municipal secretary of the Environment, Renato Lima.
One of the suggestions is the transformation of organic waste into fertilizer. The composting process, which is simple and can be done at home, benefits the residents themselves, the city and the environment, as it drastically reduces the amount of waste sent to landfills.
The suggestion is to make the most of leftover food, such as stalks, bark, seeds, roots and leaves for preparing recipes. But leftovers unsuitable for consumption, such as egg shells, spoiled fruits and coffee grounds, can go into composting, generating a powerful source of nutrients for gardens, gardens, pots and flowerpots. Other residues, such as chimarrão grass, cuttings and straw, can also be transformed into organic compost.
“It is very easy and totally possible to do domestic composting, even for those who live in an apartment or in a house without a backyard”, explains the head of the Urban Agriculture Unit of the Municipal Supply Department, Edson Rivelino. In this case, the process must use boxes, vases, pots or pet bottles and the priority is waste such as leaves and herbs.
“There are a lot of people in Curitiba practicing urban agriculture, which includes composting”, informs Rivelino. He explains that the Curitiba City Hall encourages, guides, supplies and monitors urban gardens, whether they are community, home or institutional. "Currently, there are about 1,300 scattered around the city under our supervision and guidance, and in about 70% of them, composting is practiced," he says.
For those interested in getting started, the Municipal Supply Secretariat informs that there are three ways to carry out the process: placing the waste in piles, buried or in containers, suitable for those who do not have an outdoor space (see more detailed guidelines below).
The specialist points out that animal fats should be avoided, as they are difficult to decompose, as well as meat remains and foods with salt, as they attract insects and give off a bad smell. “Materials such as magazines and newspapers must also be avoided in composting, as they decompose more slowly. They can be sent for recycling ”.
Campaign
TV films and pieces for print media, urban furniture, busdoor and collection trucks for the new campaign reaffirm Curitiba's vocation to innovate in environmental issues. In 1989, the city was the first Brazilian capital to have selective garbage collection. Two years later, Curitiba launched Câmbio Verde, a pioneer program in the exchange of recyclables for food, later implemented in several cities.
The proposal now is to reduce. Curitiba produces 1.8 thousand tons of waste daily, which means that each resident of the city discards, on average, one kilo per day. The greater the production of waste, the more nature becomes overwhelmed. On the other hand, if each citizen does his part, the situation can improve a lot.
Guidelines:
Composting in a battery system:
• The organic material must be piled up to form a pile approximately 2 meters long, 1.5 meters wide and 1 meter high, alternating 20 cm layers of dry materials with more nitrogen-rich materials (leaves, kitchen scraps ).
• Batteries with smaller dimensions do not promote ideal temperature ranges for the decomposition process to take place properly.
• When assembling the layers, wet each one, but without soaking.
• To enrich the compost, you can use, among the layers, materials such as: gray (little quantity), fertile soil, rock phosphate, limestone, finely sprinkled.
• Protect the pile with straw and turn it over every 15 days, starting in the second week.
• The compost will be ready for use after a period of 90 to 120 days.
Burial composting:
• A hole must be made in the ground, in a shaded place, where organic waste will be deposited daily. The size and number of holes will depend on the amount of organic material available and the planting area. It is recommended, for vegetable gardens and gardens in the yard, the opening of two or more holes, using approximate measures of 1 meter in length, 0.50 meter in width and 0.50 meter in depth.
• It is important to cover each layer of organic material with a thin amount of soil or straw to avoid direct sunlight and not to attract animals.
• Manure can be mixed, as it accelerates fermentation and enriches the fertilizer.
• Organic fertilizer should only be used in the vegetable garden and pots when it is fully tanned, after a period of 90 to 120 days.
Composting in containers (suitable for apartments and houses without a yard):
• When there is no space available outdoors for the formation of a pile or burial of waste, it can be placed in containers for the manufacture of organic compost.
• Preferably, reuse old plastic buckets, wooden boxes, gallons of water, broken water tanks or ice cream jars.
• Just deposit the organic waste in the place, always taking care to keep the container covered, to avoid insects and bad smell.
• Drill holes in the bottom of the container for the leachate (liquid eliminated by the decomposing organic material).
• If the container is on an impermeable surface, place a bowl (shallow bowl) on the bottom to collect the leachate.
• The liquid can be returned to the compost mixture or diluted and applied to the plants (one glass of leachate for nine liters of water).
