Quality Parameters for Composted Organic Household Waste in Costa Rica: A Literature Review
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| Autors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | artículo original |
| Estat: | Versión publicada |
| Data de publicació: | 2026 |
| Descripció: | Introduction. Composting offers an opportunity for resource recovery and circular economy by closing nutrient cycles using organic waste and enabling the recovery of the organic fraction to produce compost. Objective. To establish physicochemical and microbiological quality parameters for compost derived from household organic waste, through technical analysis, for comparison with international proposals for compost quality assessment. Methodology. A review of scientific literature, technical standards, and institutional documents published between 2004 and 2025 was conducted. The selected documents were organized and analyzed using comparative tables, based on inclusion criteria related to applicability, technical relevance, and quantitative data. Results. The international standards analyzed were NTP 201.208:2021 (Peru), NTC 5167:2022 (Colombia), NCh 2880:2004 (Chile), and the guidelines of the World Health Organization. The recurring compost quality parameters identified included macronutrients (N, P, and K), the carbon-to-nitrogen ratio, moisture content, pH, electrical conductivity, micronutrients, microbiological safety indicators, and inert material. The study revealed the absence of national regulatory criteria for composted fertilizer and found consistency between the international standards analyzed and the parameters proposed by the World Health Organization. Conclusion. Although Costa Rica has standardized analytical methods for the characterization of composted fertilizer, it lacks national regulatory criteria defining acceptable quality ranges. Therefore, it is necessary to adapt international criteria to establish quality parameters for composted fertilizer derived from household organic waste in Costa Rica, in order to standardize and evaluate the final product. |
| Pais: | Portal de Revistas UNA |
| Institution: | Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica |
| Repositorio: | Portal de Revistas UNA |
| Idioma: | Español Inglés Portugués |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:www.revistas.una.ac.cr:article/22741 |
| Accés en línia: | https://www.revistas.una.ac.cr/index.php/perspectivasrurales/article/view/22741 |
| Paraula clau: | quality composting fertilizer biowaste management standardization calidad compostaje fertilizante gestión de biorresiduos normalización qualidade compostagem gestão de biorresíduos padronização |