ABSTRACT
Coordination of Environmental Engineering, Institute of Engineering, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Post Box 70-472, Coyoacán 04510, D. F. Mexico, Mexico *Corresponding author. E-mail: nrov@iingen.unam.mx
ABSTRACT
The objective of this work was to design, within the installations of an ecological park, the building of a reception and storage center for the storage of economically valuable solid wastes, and the setting up of a composting plant for the treatment of the organic fraction. From a generation study conducted in an ecological park in operation, the volumetric weights of the generated wastes were obtained, the most abundant ones being polyethylene terephthalate (better known as PET), 38.75 kg/m³; food wastes, 110.5 kg/m³; and gardening wastes, 2443 kg/m³. These data were used as basis to determine the size of a reception and storage center and composting plant for the ecological park planned to be built in Tuzandepetl, Veracruz. PET wastes and plastics were added and a volume of 2.4 m³ in 3 months was obtained. This volume was used to design the four specific areas into which the reception and storage center was divided, each area being 2-m long, 1.5-m wide and 2-m high, plus 1-m for ventilation purposes. A movable partition was proposed in order to accommodate the eventual need of a larger space for a given type of wastes. As regard to the composting plant, the method applied in the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) workshop-composting techniques was used, in which compost density is established at 250 kg/m³ and the daily volume of organic wastes (2.25 m³) was obtained to design a weekly mound being 1.5-m long, 0.8-m wide, and 1.2-m high, forming a 16-m-long pile in 3 months. For both plants, a 10-cm-thick concrete slab was proposed as well as an area for waste reception. The building materials will be obtained from the recycling of tree felling wastes, excavation, and constructions carried out in the park. These areas will help promote awareness among the visitors.
