Assessing the Quality of Compost Produced from Human Hair and Pet Fur Waste

Waliczek, Tina M.; Drewery, Merritt; McMoran, Alex; Eriksen, Magdalena; Hale, Janet Riola

doi:10.1080/1065657x.2023.2167749

Cited by 2 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 24 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…This is less than that of another novel compost product (Jasso et al 2023) and may indicate that composting did not degrade the wool to a particle size that consumers find acceptable. Waliczek et al (2023) composted human hair and pet fur and described the presence of large swaths of hair in the finished product; although a high-quality compost was achieved, the researchers hypothesized there could be negative sensory reactions to the visible hair particles and recommended further research of consumer acceptance. Our findings confirmed their hypothesis and suggested that the presence of visible wool, hair, or fur particles in finished compost products may elicit negative reactions from certain consumers.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Market Potential for Specialty Compost Produced from Wool Waste

Glenn,

Waliczek,

Drewery

2024

hortte

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In several regions of the United States, waste and “tag” wool are readily available, inexpensive, and considered low-quality because of weed seed contamination and stains from defecation. Because of an overabundance of waste and tag wool, some are landfilled. Previous research has indicated that wool or hair incorporated in potted plants can improve the water-holding capacity of the soil and act as a slow-release fertilizer. Furthermore, compost trials have demonstrated that wool produces a high-quality compost product. This study aimed to evaluate the market potential of wool-based compost to determine its commercial viability. To address this, we conducted in-depth interviews with lead user gardeners (n = 10) who used 1 yard of wool-based compost in their gardens over the course of 10 weeks and distributed a quantitative survey instrument to both lead users and general gardeners recruited from garden centers, nurseries, and horticulture classes (n = 256). Lead users responded positively to the wool-based compost and reported they would be willing to pay $6 to $7 per ft3. General gardeners who were less familiar with the product reported they were willing to pay at least a similar amount as that for typical market composts, but they suggested that they would pay more if characteristics such as “increases drought tolerance” were used in advertising. Our analysis indicated that the target audience for the wool-based compost is male gardeners older than 25 years who are concerned about the environment.

show abstract

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Market Potential for Specialty Compost Produced from Wool Waste

Glenn,

Waliczek,

Drewery

2024

hortte

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…While certain macronutrients, micronutrients, maturity, and stability indicators were within established normal ranges, others were out-of-specification. In studies of waste wool and hair, a high moisture and nitrogen fish waste feedstock needed to be incorporated at increased rates to aid in decomposition (Hustvedt et al, 2016;Waliczek et al, 2023). Since chitin, which is found in BSFL frass and sheddings, is fibrous and similar to keratin, which is found in wool and hair, adding feedstocks with high moisture and nitrogen may be helpful in future studies that compost BSFL frass and sheddings.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Across experimental piles, the amount of wood chips and unscreened compost were consistent (37.50 and 18.75%, respectively) while BSFL frass and sheddings displaced food waste as a nitrogen source. Inclusion levels of frass and sheddings was chosen based on previous research which also investigated the suitability of novel compost ingredients (Hustvedt et al, 2016;Waliczek et al, 2023). A true control pile of compost was not necessary because, in compost quality tests, samples are compared to overall compost quality standards for the industry (United States Composting Council Seal of Testing Assurance, 2010; Sembera et al, 2018Sembera et al, , 2019Walsh and Waliczek, 2020;Waliczek et al, 2023).…”

Section: Development Of Compost Pilesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Therefore, soil amendments containing chitin that have not been degraded through composting or similar processes may be detrimental to plant health and vitality. Compost studies conducted with waste wool or human hair and animal fur, keratin-containing organic materials, demonstrated that composting aided in progressing the degradation cycle to a point where nutrients were released (Hustvedt et al, 2016;Waliczek et al, 2023). However, hair wastes used directly in potting soil tied up nutrients (Zheljazkov, 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Historically, composting has mainly involved the use of manure or discarded vegetation. However, in recent years, there has been more research on the efficacy of other organic materials as compost ingredients (Walsh and Waliczek, 2020;Waliczek et al, 2023) with the overarching goal of upcycling these materials from waste streams to valuable soil amendments.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Black soldier fly larvae (Hermetia illucens) frass and sheddings as a compost ingredient

Jasso,

Quinchia,

Waliczek

et al. 2024

Front. Sustain. Food Syst.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

One of the byproducts from rearing Black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) is its excrement, referred to as frass, and sheddings. As the commercial insect rearing industry is emerging in the U.S., there is not yet an established market for frass although the yield often exceeds that of BSFL by two- to three-fold. It has been suggested that frass could be converted into compost; however, there is a lack of literature investigating the effect of frass and larval sheddings inclusion on final compost quality. Accordingly, the objective of this study was to determine if BSFL frass and sheddings are a viable compost ingredient with the overarching purpose of identifying a potential market for an otherwise waste product of the insect-rearing industry. To address this objective, four experimental compost piles (6.12 m3 each) with increasing levels of BSFL frass and sheddings (18.75, 22.87, 27.13, 31.25%) were developed. Across piles, wood chips (37.50%) and unscreened compost (18.75%) were consistent and frass and sheddings displaced food waste. Piles were mixed and tested for moisture and temperature weekly. Once internal temperatures decreased to 38°C, piles cured until internal temperatures were consistently <32°C. After curing, samples were collected from each pile and analyzed for pH, macro- and micro-nutrients, particle size, stability, and maturity. The entire composting process, including 2 months of curing, required 5 months. For each pile, pH, nitrogen, carbon, carbon:nitrogen, and potassium were within optimal ranges. Further, stability, measured as mg CO2-C/g solids/day, and maturity, measured as seed emergence and seedling vigor, were also within optimal ranges. However, moisture/solids; organic matter; phosphorus; and stability, measured as mg CO2-C/g organic matter/day, were out-of-specification for each pile given compost quality tests. Our findings indicate BSFL frass and sheddings may be a viable compost ingredient, but further research is recommended to establish optimal inclusion levels to maximize finished compost quality.

show abstract

Assessing the Quality of Compost Produced from Human Hair and Pet Fur Waste

Cited by 2 publications

References 24 publications

Market Potential for Specialty Compost Produced from Wool Waste

Market Potential for Specialty Compost Produced from Wool Waste

Black soldier fly larvae (Hermetia illucens) frass and sheddings as a compost ingredient

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About