Composting is an effective waste management alternative that creates a horticultural and agricultural based resource. Globally, large quantities of human hair and pet fur from salons, barber shops, and groomers are disposed of, ultimately ending up in landfills. Thus, incorporating human hair and pet fur into compost is a potential approach for waste diversion. Human hair and pet fur are organic substances that contain nutrients essential for plant growth, have moisture retention properties, and can insulate and stabilize soil. Cumulatively, these properties suggest that hair and fur could be composted to create a valuable product. However, human hair and pet fur also have the capacity to contain heavy metals and/or chemicals from treatments. Accordingly, the purpose of this study was to investigate the feasibility of composting human hair and pet fur as an alternative waste management option without sacrificing compost quality standards or safety. To achieve this, compost piles were created using 25% human hair or pet fur, 40% wood chips, and 35% food waste. Piles were mixed twice weekly and monitored every 5–7 days for proper moisture and temperatures in accordance with industry standards. In-vessel composters were used. Piles cured for 4–8 weeks and the entire composting process lasted 5 months. Samples were composited and tested by the Agricultural Analytical Services Laboratory’s U.S. Composting Council’s Seal of Testing Approval Program at Pennsylvania State University. In this pilot study, high quality composts were created, indicating that waste management industries can potentially utilize human hair and pet fur as feedstocks to create desirable compost for the horticultural and agricultural industries.

Plant response tests are popular with some European composting industry schemes compared to seed germination only tests. In the case of the UK tomato plant response test, this assesses not only seed germination and plant growth but also weed germination and plant abnormalities (the latter due to presence of herbicide residues). However, a drawback of the test is its long duration at 28 days slowing positive release of finished compost. The purpose of this pilot study was to carry out a first-time comparison of the UK tomato response test with the German barley response test which is shorter in duration at 10-12 days. Eleven compost materials, both finished composts and immature material, were run on the tests in parallel with supporting sample characterization to aid results interpretation. The two plant response tests reported comparable pass/fail results for nine out of eleven samples. The two remaining samples were reported differently and neither test reporting fail in both instances.

Agricultural waste utilization in the form of compost is a sustainable alternative to fertilizer for increasing crop yield in smallholder farms. A study was conducted to investigate the effect of coffee pulp (CP) compost, phosphorus (P) fertilizer, and their combination on yield and yield components of maize in the Gedeo Zone, Southern Ethiopia, under rainfed conditions using maize variety BH140 as a test crop. The treatments consisted of four CP compost levels (0, 2.5, 5 and 7.5 t/ha) and four P levels (0, 10, 20 and 30 kg/ha) laid out in a factorial arrangement using a randomized complete block design with three replications. The analysis of variance revealed that there were significant (p ≤ 0.05) differences among the different levels of CP compost on tasseling date, ear length, 1000 seed weight, grain yield, biomass production, and harvest index of maize. P application had also a significant (p ≤ 0.05) effect on all measured yield components and final grain yield. Sole application of CP at the rate of 2.5 t/ha increased maize grain yield by 19% compared to control plots. Integration of CP compost at the rate of 2.5 t/ha with 30 and 20 kg P/ha increased maize grain yields by 63 and 60.85% compared to control plots, respectively. Thus, the integration of compost at the rate of 2.5 t/ha with 20 kg P/ha could be recommended for maximum grain yield. Farmers who cannot afford fertilizer would be encouraged to use CP compost at the rate of 2.5 t/ha.

Vermicompost is a material whose popularity is rapidly growing. However, information about the usage amount and mineralization in the soil, and the state of the emergence of plant nutrients is quite limited. In this study, it was aimed to determine the effects of different vermicompost doses at different incubation periods on the soil properties and nutrient concentrations of the tomato plant. For this purpose, increased doses of vermicompost (0, 20, 40, and 60 t ha−1) were mixed into the soil, and effects of them on soil properties at different incubation periods (0, 15, 30, 45, 60 and 90 days) were determined. At the end of the incubation period, the tomato plant was grown. At the end of the cultivation phase, the residual effect of vermicompost on soil properties were determined. Vermicompost doses and the increase in incubation period increased the amount of soil organic matter. With the direct and residual effects of increased vermicompost doses, the total concentration of N, av-P, ex-K, ex-Ca, ex-Mg and av-Zn in the soil increased. Prolongation of the incubation period caused fluctuation of nutrient concentrations. Increased vermicompost doses positively affected the N, P, and K concentrations of the tomato plant, and negatively affected the Ca, Mg, Fe, Zn, and Mn concentrations of it. As a result, it was found that vermicompost improved the chemical properties of the highly calcareous Mediterranean region soils, but it was not sufficient for adequate and balanced feeding in plant production, and it must necessarily be supplemented by chemical feeding.

Bacterial species of the genus Acidithiobacillus have been proved to reduce soil salinity, but their chemical impact on a saline compost has not been reported. This work is aimed to evaluate the effects of A. thiooxidans on the chemical properties of a saline compost formulation. When added to a microcosm under nonsterile conditions, a sulfur-supplemented A. thiooxidans inoculum lowered pH to 7.16, reduced exchangeable sodium levels to 97 cmol kg−1, and increased electrical conductivity to 7.93 dS m−1 after 720 h. No differences in bacterial fingerprint were observed after adding A. thiooxidans, either supplemented with sulfur or not. These results suggest that inoculating saline composts with sulfur-oxidizing bacterial strains of the genus Acidithiobacillus could help to decrease salinity-associated parameters, and it has the potential of reducing the impact of prolonged application of organic fertilizers on the soil. Additionally, it could be a valuable tool to remediate high-salinity soils.

Degradation rate of poly(lactic acid) (PLA), a compostable plastic, is affected by its physical properties and environmental conditions. Since PLA with different physical properties enter composting systems, investigation of degradation of PLA with strong physical properties in compost at different temperatures and its influence on compost fungal community structure are the main concerns of this study. To determine the effect of slow PLA degradation on fungal communities, PLA granules with high degree of crystallinity, 60%, were incubated in compost at 25 °C and 50 °C for 4 months at 0, 10, 25 and 50% (w/w) concentrations; their degradation rates were compared and impact of PLA degradation on compost fungal communities was examined by terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (TRFLP). PLA granules in compost at 25 °C showed no physical changes but at 50 °C physical disintegration occurred after 4 months. TRFLP revealed that fungal community profiles in compost were affected by PLA, particularly at 50 °C where PLA degraded. Compost fungal communities in the presence of PLA at 50 °C had more variation, 63%, than at 25 °C (52%). Incubation time affected fungal community structure as during 2nd month, community structure changed specifically at 50 °C and at 50% (w/w) PLA, however, became similar to that in the absence of PLA at the end of 4th month at both temperatures indicating PLA with a high degree of crystallinity causes a temporal perturbation in compost fungal communities. In compost containing PLA at 50 °C, abundance of certain TRFs representing fungal populations increased to 30% which may involve in PLA utilization.

This study aims to investigate the characteristics of night soil/horse manure with leaf co-composting using aerobic static composting method. Two influencing factors, including composting materials and aeration pattern, were investigated by determining the change in the principal physicochemical properties, i.e. temperature, volatile solid, carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen, carbon-to-nitrogen ratio, heavy metals, ammonia nitrogen, nitrate nitrogen, and germination index (GI). The mixture of horse manure and leaf can achieve high composting temperature, long retention time of high temperature (55 °C), fast organic matter degradation, and high GI under the same aeration pattern. Under the same composting materials, the intermittent aeration pattern during composting was superior to the continuous aeration pattern because the former promoted the composting process.

This study aimed at measuring the effect of vermicompost on soil physical and chemical properties and runoff quality and quantity in agro-ecosystems in Northern Iran. Thus, runoff measurement plots of 1 × 5 m were set up in sloping lands under natural rainfall during 5 months. Runoff quality and quantity, soil properties, and plant growth were measured. This study shows that the amount of runoff water and its quality (sediment yields, nitrate content, pH, and conductivity) were not influenced by the fertilization treatments (vermicompost alone, chemical fertilization alone, or their mixture), except for the first month of the experiment where a lower runoff amount was measured when vermicompost was applied alone. Although no difference in plant growth was found, our results showed a significant improvement of soil properties when vermicompost was used as a fertilizer. Consequently, this study shows that vermicompost can be considered as an alternative application for reducing the use of chemical fertilizers and improving soil properties but its impact on plant growth and runoff is limited to the short term.

The goal of this article is the evaluation of the compost quality from Kraft mill organic matter by germination Raphanus sativus and Lepidium sativum. The evaluation of compost was measured in terms of stability, maturity and phytotoxicity. Two compost piles were elaborated, one with a ratio of C/N = 23.67 and the other with C/N = 18.67. Each pile was divided into 2 sections, pile 1 (compost 1 and 2) and pile 2 (compost 3 and 4). Wood bark was added to each pile as a structuring material, resulting in mixtures conformed by treatment sludge with bark. The results obtained show that all the mixtures reached thermophilic temperatures (>50 °C), resulting in stable and mature compost with humic and fulvic acid ratios > 1.9. The gemination index showed no presence of toxic substances, with germination percentages over 80% for all the tests of Raphanus sativus and Lepidium sativum, while the N:P:K ratio of 0.5 of Compost 4 positively and significantly boosted the growth of both species with respect to control. It was concluded that Compost 4, with C/N ratio = 23.67 with structuring material presented positive and significant results (p > 0.05) with respect to Compost 1, 2 and 3.

The effect of organic fertilizers was evaluated on the nutritional parameters of Moringa oleifera in the field at a year after transplantation. The study was conducted in a completely randomized block design comprising six treatments each of which was replicated four times. Physicochemical properties of leaves and seeds sampled from treatments (cow dung compost, goat manure compost, poultry manure compost, chemical fertilizer, mixture of fertilizers and control) were assessed. Results obtained indicate that dried leaves of M. oleifera from poultry manure compost contain a high total protein content (41.83%). Seeds harvested from composted plants were rich in nutrients than leaves, with the exception of vitamin C, which was more concentrated in leaves than seeds. Vitamin C contents in dry leaves from cow dung compost and the mixture of fertilizers were 734 and 964.50 mg/100g, respectively. Applying plants with compost resulted in increasing chlorophyll a and b in leaves, but not carotenoid. On the overall, organic fertilizers contributed to the improvement of the nutritional quality of M. oleifera leaves and seeds under field conditions.