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Opportunities and Challenges of Organic Waste Management from the Agroindustrial Sector in South America: Chimborazo Province Case Study

Abstract:

The increase of the agroindustrial sector in South America gives the opportunity to apply the most effective strategies for the disposal and treatment of generated organic wastes. Therefore, it is important to identify the variability in the composition of the agroindustrial wastes to carry out their adequate management. The Ecuadorian province of Chimborazo is located in the central area of the inter-Andean corridor. The main agroindustries in this province are related to the production of vegetables, meat, ornamental plants, flour from different cereals and wood. The management of the wastes from these agroindustries is not optimized with respect to the associated environmental consequences. Therefore, the aim of this work was to carry out a characterization of the different organic wastes from agroindustry to evaluate their potential use as soil amendments. Twenty-seven samples of different types of agroindustrial wastes from the vegetable and animal food-processing industry, wood industry, and ornamental plant production were evaluated for pH, electrical conductivity, water-soluble anions, organic matter, total organic carbon (Corg), total nitrogen (Nt), C/N ratio, water-soluble carbon (Cw), water-soluble polyphenols, macro- and micronutrients, potentially toxic elements, and germination index (GI). The results showed that, in general, the agroindustrial residues were characterized by acidic pH, low EC values, and high organic-matter contents. The macro- and micronutrients and heavy-metal concentrations were greater in the animal agroindustrial wastes than in those from vegetable sources. Most of the materials showed high C/N ratio, low GI values, and high Cw contents, which indicated a lack of organic-matter stability, due to the high content of easily degradable and phytotoxic compounds.