title: Characterisation of source-separated household waste intended for composting.
abstract: Large-scale composting of source-separated household waste has expanded in recent years in the Nordic countries. One problem can be low pH at the start of the process. Incoming biowaste at four composting plants was characterised chemically, physically and microbiologically. The pH of food waste ranged from 4.7 to 6.1 and organic acid concentration from 24 to 81 mmol kg(-1). The bacterial diversity in the waste samples was high, with all samples dominated by Gammaproteobacteria, particularly Pseudomonas and Enterobacteria (Escherichia coli, Klebsiella, Enterobacter). Lactic acid bacteria were also numerically important and are known to negatively affect the composting process because the lactic acid they produce lowers the pH, inhibiting other bacteria. The bacterial groups needed for efficient composting, i.e. Bacillales and Actinobacteria, were present in appreciable amounts. The results indicated that start-up problems in the composting process can be prevented by recycling bulk material and compost.
authors.affiliation: Department of Energy and Technology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden. cecilia.sundberg@et.slu.se
authors.forename: Cecilia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sundberg
authors.forename: Ingrid H
authors.initials: IH
authors.lastname: Franke-Whittle
authors.forename: Sari
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kauppi
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Romantschuk
authors.forename: Heribert
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Insam
authors.forename: Håkan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Jönsson
mesh_terms: D005516:Food Microbiology; D020563:Gammaproteobacteria / Q000145:classification* / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D005735:Garbage; D012988:Soil Microbiology