Characterization of compost-like outputs from mechanical biological treatment of municipal solid waste

Throughout the world, most municipal solid waste consists of biodegradable components. The most abundant biological component is cellulose, followed by hemicellulose and lignin. Recycling of these components is important for the carbon cycle. In an attempt to reduce the environmental impacts of biodegradable wastes, mechanical biological treatments (MBTs) are being used as a waste management process in many countries. MBT plants attempt to mechanically separate the biodegradable and nonbiodegradable components. The nonbiodegradable components are then sent for reprocessing or landfilled, whereas the biodegradable components are reduced in biological content through composting or anaerobic digestion, leaving a compost-like output (CLO). The further use of these partially degraded residues is uncertain, and in many cases it is likely that they will be landfilled. The implications of this for the future of landfill management are causing some concern because there is little evidence that the long-term emissions tail will be reduced. In this study, the CLOs from four different biological treatment processes were characterized for physical contamination through visual inspection and for biological content using a sequential digestion analysis. The results indicate that the composition of the incoming waste, dependent on the way the waste was collected/segregated, was the factor that influenced biological content most, with length of treatment process the second most important.