నైరూప్య

Reduction of Organic Solid Waste Using Black Soldier Fly (HermetiaIllucens) (Diptera: Stratiomyidae) Larvae for Municipal Solid Waste Management in Developing Countries.

D. Sarpong, S. Oduro-Kwarteng, S.F. Gyasi, M.K. Baah

Purpose Improper disposal of organic waste in developing countries pose a huge challenge, especially in the cities of de- veloping countries due to unavailability of sustainable low cost waste treatment technology. Black soldier fly has the potential to degrade organic waste and the prepupae stage of the insect can be harvested and used as valuable nutritious feed for aqua- culture and poultry industry. The study investigated the Black soldier fly (HermetiaIllucens) (Diptera: Stratiomyidae) larvae potential to reduce and consume a wide range of organic waste and the possible used in the waste management industry. Methods To assess the consumption and reduction ability of the black soldier fly larvae, Six (6) different organic waste types were specifically chosen; farm waste, meat waste, vegeta- ble waste, fruits waste, fish waste and household/kitchen and mixture of food waste as a control. The waste consumption was determined by varying waste feed treatment (2.0, 2.5, 3.0, 3.5, to 4 kg) of all waste types. Each of the sets up received equal number of viable larvae (i.e. 2,000) which were 5-day old. Results The results showed that the HermetiaIllucens larvae was able to reduce all the waste types investigated. The kitchen/ household waste had the highest percentage mean reduction per day by the larvae. Furthermore, the Kitchen waste produced the heaviest larvae within the shorted possible time among the treatment groups. The larvae fed on fruits, vegetables had al- most the same weight and length of time as the control feed treatment. The fish and meat waste produced prepupae (har- vested stage larvae) with the highest nutritious content. It was found that the black soldier fly larvae had the ability to reduce and consume wide range of organic waste and could be utilised as animal feedstock. Conclusion Further investigation of black soldier fly larvae as agent of waste management on a large scale system would be helpful in future studies.