Title: Optimisation of a food waste composting process with a sawdust

Authors: Alžbeta Maxianová; Magdalena Daria Vaverková

Addresses: Department of Applied Landscape and Ecology, Mendel University in Brno, Zemedelska 1, 613 00 Brno, Czech Republic ' Department of Applied Landscape and Ecology, Mendel University in Brno, Zemedelska 1, 613 00 Brno, Czech Republic; Institute of Civil Engineering, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Nowoursynowska 159, 02 776 Warsaw, Poland

Abstract: The paper focused on food waste disposal by the form of composting. Food waste composting is not simple and to reach its optimum, various additives were supplied to the process in order to enhance resulting compost parameters. In our research, we used sawdust as additive. This research was specifically aimed to compare food waste composting with and without using sawdust. We chose leftovers such as potatoes, rice and vegetables. The sawdust was added at ratios of 40% of the total weight. The composting process lasted 28 days. After this period, the final tests were conducted for physical-chemical and biological properties of the composts. Test results revealed that unlike the compost with the addition of sawdust, the compost without sawdust was phytotoxic to plants. It is recommended that sawdust proportion is 40% because the compost with such an amount of sawdust as additive exhibited more favourable parameters.

Keywords: biodegradable waste; compost; compost parameters; phytotoxicity; seed germination; electric composter; in-vessel composting.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSAMI.2020.112841

International Journal of Sustainable Agricultural Management and Informatics, 2020 Vol.6 No.4, pp.319 - 329

Received: 30 Sep 2019
Accepted: 27 Mar 2020
Published online: 07 Feb 2021 *

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