Composting additives and their role in sustainable waste management

Abstract:

Aerobic composting is a good way of recycling organic waste. It has a number of benefits: cheap to produce, lower impact on the environment and enhances soil quality. Nevertheless, conventional composting systems are still limited by some issues, including: nitrogen losses, emissions of greenhouse gases, odour, lack of compost maturity, presence of antibiotics, build-up of mineral salts, and the presence of hazardous heavy metals in the final product with high bioavailability. Co-composting with additives like zeolite, lime, rock phosphate, bentonite, biochar and microbial inoculants have been proven to significantly reduce environmental risk and improve the efficiency of the composting process during the treatment of organic waste and hazardous waste. Additives are used to modify the composting process (such as reducing leachate and gaseous emissions, improving the packing, aeration and mixing of the composting piles, accelerating the decomposition of organic matter, increasing the availability of nutrients and the nutrient content of the composted material). The objective of this review is to provide insights into the application of various additives for improving composting performance and compost quality..