Organic waste as a biomass resource - Biomass as Energy Source: Resources, Systems and Applications - page 109

Figure 6.1. Jätekukko Oy's mixed waste pre-treatment line. Photo: Jätekukko Oy.

also a possible pre-treatment strategy (Cherubini et al. , 2009; European Commission, 2006;
Gendebien et al. , 2003; McDougall et al. , 2008; Rada, 2009).

6.2.1 Examples of pre-treatment
Kitchen biowaste is defined as easily degraded wastes of plant or animal origin. In the city of
Kuopio and in the city of Pieksämäki, Finland, the collection of kitchen biowaste was started in
June 2003 using two different methods. The regional waste management company arranged the
collection. The collection of kitchen biowaste was started in housing estates with more than 10
households. The regional waste management company provided biowaste bins for every housing
estate. In the city of Pieksämäki the waste management company provided bins with air holes
(240 liters, made by Plastic Omnium) and furthermore every household was given one bucket,
“ventilated” Combi BioBag holder system, and 150 compostable bags (bioMat® BioBags). In
the city of Kuopio, the waste management company provided bins without air holes (240 liters,
made by Plastic Omnium) with a compostable sack inside. In Kuopio, the households were given
some compostable bags but the bucket was not given. The company studied whether the different
biowaste collection methods have an influence on the quality (pH-value, moisture and microor-
ganisms) of the biowastes and compared these two collection methods in practice. In addition to
the measurements also cleanliness, odor and quantity of biowastes was assessed. The moisture
and pH-values of the biowastes were at the same level in both collection methods. The mean of
the pH-values was 5.57 in Pieksämäki and 5.55 in Kuopio. The mean of the moisture content
was 66.5% in both Pieksämäki and Kuopio. In the city of Kuopio, people used newspaper and
other papers to the packing of biowastes more than in Pieksämäki. This may have an effect on the
moisture of biowastes as well as on the pH-values. According to the assessments, biowaste bins
were cleaner, drier and more odorless in Pieksämäki than in Kuopio and the kitchen biowaste col-
lection method, which was used in Pieksämäki, was better than the one used in Kuopio (Jätekukko
Oy, 2004).
In Sweden, systems for the collection of food waste were used in more than half of the 290
municipalities in 2011. The experiences from these municipalities show that important factors for
successful introduction of collection of source-separated food waste includes planning, adequate
human resources, information and monitoring and control, i.e. factors that are not related to a
specific design of the collection system. Different collection systems have their pros and cons but
most important is that the systems are well adapted to the current municipality (Avfall Sverige,
2011; Biogas Öst, 2011).
An example of a RDF plant is the one run by Jätekukko Oy in Kuopio, Finland since 2009, see
Figure 6.1.