ABSTRACT
As one peruses the literature on composting, a variety of definitions of the term "composting" is encountered, some appropriate and others less so. Composting may be classified on the basis of three broad sets of differences, namely, aerobic vs. anaerobic, mesophilic vs. thermophilic, and windrow vs. mechanical. Inasmuch as composting is biological decomposition, the organisms contaminating the wastes have the potential to accomplish the breakdown needed in the compost process. Aside from economics and especially in windrow composting, structure, moisture content, and availability of oxygen all must be considered together when determining the dimensions of a suitable particle size for composting. In windrow composting the upper permissible limit is a function of the interstitial volume, and specifically of the extent to which the integrity of the collection of interstices is maintained. As stated before, in windrow composting the source of oxygen is the air contained in the interstices.
