The EU Regional Draft Waste Management Plan (1999-2004) identified pig slurry (501,590 tonnes), poultry manure (217,110 tonnes) and spent mushroom compost (221,665 tonnes) as the main contributors to the 3.5 million tonnes of waste generated annually in Ireland. Current legislative restrictions prevent pig wastes from intensive pig units and horticultural wastes mainly spent compost produced in mushroom farms being disposed via landspreading due to pollution threat from nutrient run-off and the health hazards due to animal and human risk pathogen contents in wastes. Composting is a world-wide popular option for environmentally sustainable means of recycling farm wastes. In Ireland, profitable conversion of farm wastes such as pig slurry solids and spent mushroom compost has not yet been fully explored for their economic viability as `green' fertilizers. In this study, we produced pelleted formulations of the composted pig waste solids, (20%) blended with spent mushroom compost (26%), turkey litter (26%) cocoa husks (18%) and shredded paper (10%) to an environmentally safe, organic-based fertiliser resulting in N:P:K = 3:5:10, ideally suitable for use on amenity grassland such as golf course fairways and greens in Ireland, wherein spring and summer fertilizers with slow release of nutrients would aid an even growth of grass. We describe the composting methods used, processing technology developed and additional amendments such as dried blood or feather meal that were used during the pelletisation operation yielding specific N:P:K target ratios from the pig manure and spent compost wastes. We also report on the rigorous microbiological tests carried out throughout the composting phase and ascertained the pathogen-free status of the final pelletised fertilser products.
and Parkin (1994) defined soil quality as “the capacity of a soil to function within ecosystem boundaries to sustain biological productivity, maintain environmental quality, and promote plant and animal health.” Soil quality is generally related to
, S. Miller, W. Cabrera, M. Hassan, M. 2011 Arsenic in soils and forages from poultry litter amended pastures Intl. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 8 1534 1546 Brinton, W. 2013 Soil CO 2 respiration test: Official Solvita guideline. Version 2013
pressure, immobilization of fertilizer nitrogen (N), and difficult to control ratoon vegetable crop ( Treadwell et al., 2008c ). Compost can be defined as “the product of a managed process through which microorganisms break down plant and animal materials
for fruits, vegetables, or crops for animal consumption. However, growers should wear gloves when handling ATC. Survival analysis and health ratings. Geranium ( Fig. 1A ) and petunia ( Fig. 1D ) exhibited 100% survival at the end of the study [at
of healthy food is the concentration of trace nutrients ( White and Brown, 2010 ). Inadequacy of trace nutrients in food has been a developing human health issue ( Roy et al., 2006 ), with K, Ca, Mg, Fe, Zn, I, Se, and Cu most commonly inadequate in
and green manure treatments had greater EC relative to the control but were not different from treatments receiving urea. Increased soil salinity has previously been attributed to the use of animal-based manures ( Edmeades, 2003 ), particularly poultry
. capsici ( Sang et al., 2010 ). Amending potting mix with composted sewage sludge reduced the incidence of Phytophthora crown rot on pepper by 42% in a greenhouse trial ( Lumsden et al., 1983 ). Application of semicomposted horse and poultry manure
break down plant and animal materials into more available forms suitable for application to the soil ( USDA, 2016 ). There are no compost use quality guidelines in the NOP that address the physical, chemical, and biological properties of compost for
and Nelson, 1996a , b ; Hadas and Kautsky, 1994 ) and animal feeds ( Brown and Pate, 1997 ; Moritz and Latshaw, 2001 ; Palmquist et al., 1993 ), burned or land filled. In the EU, many poultry producers pay for the disposal of waste feathers (M