“One Man's Sludge Is Another Man's Opportunity”. Palm oil mills in Malaysia had embarked in treatment of biomass produced in the mill to reduce the pollution effects on the environment. Bio-composting process that can transforms empty fruit bunch (EFB), palm oil mill effluent (POME), decanter solid (DS) and boiler ash (BA) into organic compost has been strongly promoted by the local government agencies and the industries concerned. This paper describes the aerobic composting process used by Bintulu Lumber Development Sdn. Bhd. to fully utilize the biomass produced in composting process and turn them into organic compost which exceeded the standard qualification parameters as described in the result. A cost saving comparison of organic compost with inorganic compost fertilizer used in oil palm plantation shows that it can replace part the inorganic fertilizer with no adverse effect and reduce the production cost. Besides adding revenue to the palm oil mill, the process is more environmental friendly as it helps in the reduction of GHG release in the normal wastewater treatment process and displacement of inorganic fertilizers. The bio-composting process is a sustainable process economically and environmentally in the oil palm industry.

Keywords: Empty Fruit Bunch, Palm Oil Mill Effluent, Decanter Solid, Boiler Ash, Aerobic process, Organic, compost.