Utilizations of food waste from Cheeryal village, Telangana, India, in various types of agricultural activity

Food waste management is a term that is used to refer to the process of collecting and treating various types of food waste. Waste management is all about how food waste can be reused as a valuable resource. There is a need to control the volume of food waste generated in our society. Every day, a huge quantity of organic waste is disposed at inland fill sites without proper treatment. These landfill sites produce foul smell, underground water pollution, and air pollution. This pollution can affect the health of humans, wildlife, and our environment. Among the many methods of organic food waste management, a composting method for managing the organic waste generated in the Cheeryal village was adopted. The organic wastes comprising rice waste, vegetable waste, and fruit waste were collected from Cheeryal village for composting. The six different compost formulations were prepared by varying the proportions of rice waste, vegetable waste, fruit waste, cow dung, and rock phosphate. A moisture test is conducted to determine the initial moisture content. In this analysis, various types of characterizations, including scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared, and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller analysis, were performed for measuring the physical and chemical properties of composting samples. Compost maturity, electrical conductivity, and organic content tests were performed to check the quality of produced compost nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium tests. Proper management of food waste helps reduce environmental pollution, improve soil fertility, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and convert organic waste materials into a valuable agricultural product through a proper approach.