Monitoring the quality of municipal solid waste compost produced in Iran

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Research Department of Soil Chemistry and Physics and Fertilizer Technology, Soil and Water Research Institute (SWRI), Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Karaj, Iran

2 . Research Department of Soil Chemistry and Physics and Fertilizer Technology, Soil and Water Research Institute (SWRI), Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Karaj, Iran

3 Department of soil and water, Kermanshah Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center; Agricultural, research, Education and Extension Organization; Kermanshah; Iran.

4 Department of soil and water, Razavi Khorasan Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center; Agricultural, research, Education and Extension Organization; Mashhad; Iran

5 Department of soil and water, East Azerbaijan Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center; Agricultural, research, Education and Extension Organization; Tabriz; Iran

6 Department of soil and water, Isfahan Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center; Agricultural, research, Education and Extension Organization; Isfahan; Iran

Abstract

The production of compost from biodegradable urban waste is one of the waste management methods. This research aimed to evaluate the quality of composts in the country. samples were collected from compost produced in factories in Mashhad, Kermanshah, Tehran (first and second grade from Kahrizak), Tabriz, and Isfahan (Isfahan, Shahin Shahr, Lenjan, and Najafabad) over a period of two years. The samples were analyzed for nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, total lead, total nickel, total chromium, total cadmium, total arsenic, total cobalt, foreign materials, moisture, electrical conductivity, and acidity. none of the composts produced in the country met the standard conditions and failed to comply with the Iranian national standards in at least one or more parameters. The average concentrations of cadmium, lead, nickel, chromium, cobalt, and arsenic in the samples were 3.27, 134, 69, 76, 7.90, and 3 mg/kg of dry weight, indicating non-compliance rates of 6.5%, 16%, 11.2%, 9.47%, 0.59%, and 0%, respectively. The pH had an average of 7.32, showing a 13.4% non-compliance with standards. Electrical conductivity (EC), organic carbon (OC), carbon-to-nitrogen ratio (C:N), nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P2O5), potassium (K2O), and moisture content averaged 5.71, 20.7, 12.7, 1.81, 1.01, 0.96, and 23.6%, respectively, indicating non-compliance rates of 10.7%, 80.5%, 68%, 36.4%, 96.7%, 0%, and 31.4% compared to first-grade compost. it is necessary to evaluate and improve the quality of produced composts concerning organic carbon content and heavy metals, especially lead, to address the non-compliance issues in agricultural usage.

Keywords

Main Subjects

EXTENDED ABSTRACT

Introduction

Population growth, increasing urbanization, changing lifestyles, and rising waste production have become global issues today. Compost production from the biodegradable portion of waste is one of the waste management methods that has been initiated in our country for several years. If the compost produced from urban waste has suitable quality, it can be a viable option for use in agricultural lands in Iran, considering its organic carbon content and nutrients as a soil improver.

Purpose

This study aimed to investigate the quality of compost produced in Iran.

Research Method

compost samples were collected monthly from composting facilities in Mashhad, Kermanshah, Tehran (first and second grade from Kahrizak), Tabriz, Isfahan (Isfahan, Shahin Shahr, Lenjan, and Najafabad) from winter2016 to winter2018. The quality indicators of compost included: nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, total lead, total nickel, total chromium, total cadmium, total arsenic, total cobalt, percentage of foreign materials, moisture percentage, electrical conductivity, and acidity, which were measured in all samples at the central laboratory of the Soil and Water Research Institute of Iran.

Results

none of the composts produced in the country met the conditions for standard compost, and at least one or more parameters did not comply with the national standard of Iran. The average concentrations of cadmium, lead, nickel, chromium, cobalt, and arsenic in the composts produced in the country were 3.27, 134, 69, 76, 7.90, and 3 mg/kg of dry weight, respectively, indicating non-compliance with the national standard of Iran by 6.5%, 16%, 11.2%, 9.47%, 0.59%, and 0%. The results of the physical and chemical parameter assessments also indicated that the pH, with an average of 7.32, had 13.4% non-compliance with the standard. EC (dS/m), OC (%), C:N, N (%), P2O5 (%), K2O (%), and moisture (%) had average values of 5.71, 20.7, 12.7, 1.81, 1.01, 0.96, and 23.6, respectively, which showed non-compliance with the national standard of Iran by 10.7%, 80.5%, 68%, 36.4%, 96.7%, 0%, and 31.4% for first-grade compost, and 0%, 18.3%, 32%, 27.2%, 0%, 0%, and 0% non-compliance for second-grade compost.

Conclusion

 Therefore, for use in agricultural lands, it is necessary to assess the produced compost regarding organic carbon content and then heavy metals, especially lead, and improve the quality to address the non-compliances with national standard.

Author Contributions

 “Conceptualization, Kambiz Bazargan, Fardin Hamedi, Peyman Keshavrz, HamidReza Rahmani, Ahmad Bybordi, Karim Shahbazi; methodology, Kobrasadat Hasheminasab; data curation and software, Mojgan Yeganeh; writing—original draft preparation, Mojgan Yeganeh, Kambiz Bazargan and Kobrasadat Hasheminasab; writing—review and editing, Kobrasadat Hasheminasab; visualization, Mojgan Yeganeh; supervision, and project administration, Y.Y. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.” All authors contributed equally to the conceptualization of the article and writing of the original and subsequent drafts.

Data Availability Statement

Data will be available based on request from the authors.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank all participants of the present study.

Ethical considerations

The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the University of ABCD (Ethical code: IR.UT.RES.2024.500). The authors avoided data fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, and misconduct.

Conflict of interest

The author declares no conflict of interest.

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Iranian Journal of Soil and Water Research
Volume 56, Issue 2
April 2025
Pages 293-307

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