Horticultural Uses of Municipal Solid Waste Composts

Abstract

<jats:p>Composting of municipal solid waste (MSW) has received renewed attention as a result of increasing waste disposal costs and the environmental concerns associated with using landfills. Sixteen MSW composting facilities are currently operating in the United States, with many more in the advanced stages of planning. A targeted end use of the compost is for horticultural crop production. At the present time, quality standards for MSW composts are lacking and need to be established. Elevated heavy metal concentrations in MSW compost have been reported; however, through proper sorting and recycling prior to composting, contamination by heavy metals can be reduced. Guidelines for safe metal concentrations and fecal pathogens in compost, based on sewage sludge research, are presented. The compost has been shown to be useful in horticultural crop production by improving soil physical properties, such as lowering bulk density and increasing water-holding capacity. The compost can supply essential nutrients to a limited extent; however, supplemental fertilizer, particularly N, is usually required. The compost has been used successfully as a sphagnum peat substitute for container media and as a seedbed for turf production. High soluble salts and B, often leading to phytotoxicity, are problems associated with the use of MSW compost. The primary limiting factor for the general use of MSW compost in horticultural crop production at present is the lack of consistent, high-quality compost.</jats:p>

Replacement of a Peat-Lite Medium with Municipal Solid Waste Compost for Growing Melon (Cucumis meloL.) Transplant Seedlings

“…According to Rosen et al (1993), a C/N ratio less than 20 is ideal for ready-to-use compost. A higher C/N ratio could cause immobilization of soluble nitrogen when MSWC is used as a growing medium for containerized plant production (Abad et al 2002).…”

The Effects of Goat Manure, Sewage Sludge And Effective Microorganisms on the Composting of Pine Bark

“…comm 2 .). Organic wastes such as sewage sludge, municipal solid wastes, cattle manure and others have been used successfully in the preparation of soilless potting media, after these wastes have been properly composted (Inbar et al 1986;Gouin 1993;Rosen et al 1993). Information on the potential of co-composting of pine bark with organic materials that have high nitrogen content is lacking.…”

ACCUMULATION AND FRACTIONATION OF COPPER, IRON, MANGANESE, AND ZINC IN CALCAREOUS SOILS AMENDED WITH COMPOSTS†

“…The use of composts made from municipal solid wastes (MSW), biosolids and their combinations (co-compost) has received great attention in the past four decades (1). Amending soils with these composts improves the soil physical and chemical properties (2,3,4), microbial population density and enzyme activity (2,5) and increases crops yields (6).…”