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Treatment Options for Municipal Solid Waste by Composting and Its Challenges

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Abstract

Recovery and recycling of municipal solid waste biodegradable fraction (50–55%) are essential for attaining sustainability and a circular economy. Among organic waste treatment methods, composting is used to recycle organic fractions of waste. However, only 10–12% of municipal solid waste is utilized for composting treatment due to a lack of segregation practices and process challenges, including long process periods, odorous and greenhouse gas emissions, nitrogen loss, and low compost quality, which hinders large-scale practice. The current review paper discusses the challenges of composting treatment and its possible solutions. Various strategies were explored to address these challenges, such as utilizing microbial inoculum, additives, and optimization of physicochemical parameters. It also emphasizes the application of metagenomics for exploring key species. The knowledge about the microbial community and biochemical pathways (genome mining) can be exploited for the improvement of treatment efficiency.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to Director, CSIR-NEERI, for providing the necessary facilities for this work. Author acknowledges the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) for providing fellowship through the DBT-Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) program: DBT/JRF/BET-18/. The manuscript has been checked for plagiarism using iThenticate software at Knowledge Resource Centre: CSIR-NEERI: KRC No.: CSIR-NEERI/KRC/2021/FEB/DRC/1.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Environmental Biotechnology & Genomics Division, CSIR-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), Nehru Marg, Nagpur, 440020, India

    Jayanta Andraskar, Shailendra Yadav & Atya Kapley

  2. Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad, 201002, India

    Jayanta Andraskar, Debishree Khan & Atya Kapley

  3. Chemical and Hazardous Waste Management Division, CSIR-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), Nehru Marg, Nagpur, 440020, India

    Debishree Khan

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  1. Jayanta Andraskar
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Correspondence to Atya Kapley.

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Andraskar, J., Yadav, S., Khan, D. et al. Treatment Options for Municipal Solid Waste by Composting and Its Challenges. Indian J Microbiol 63, 235–243 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12088-023-01087-4

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