title: Inactivation of bacterial pathogenic load in compost against vermicompost of organic solid waste aiming to achieve sanitation goals: A review.
abstract: Waste management strategies for organic residues, such as composting and vermicomposting, have been implemented in some developed and developing countries to solve the problem of organic solid waste (OSW). Yet, these biological treatment technologies do not always result in good quality compost or vermicompost with regards to sanitation capacity owing to the presence of bacterial pathogenic substances in objectionable concentrations. The presence of pathogens in soil conditioners poses a potential health hazard and their occurrence is of particular significance in composts and/or vermicomposts produced from organic materials. Past and present researches demonstrated a high-degree of agreement that various pathogens survive after the composting of certain OSW but whether similar changes in bacterial pathogenic loads arise during vermitechnology has not been thoroughly elucidated. This review garners information regarding the status of various pathogenic bacteria which survived or diffused after the composting process compared to the status of these pathogens after the vermicomposting of OSW with the aim of achieving sanitation goals. This work is also indispensable for the specification of compost quality guidelines concerning pathogen loads which would be specific to treatment technology. It was hypothesized that vermicomposting process for OSW can be efficacious in sustaining the existence of pathogenic organisms most specifically; human pathogens under safety levels. In summary, earthworms can be regarded as a way of obliterating pathogenic bacteria from OSW in a manner equivalent to earthworm gut transit mechanism which classifies vermicomposting as a promising sanitation technique in comparison to composting processes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Mauritius, Reduit 80837, Mauritius. Electronic address: nuhaa.soobhany@umail.uom.ac.mu.
authors.forename: Nuhaa
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Soobhany
authors.affiliation: Office of Vice Chancellor, University of Mauritius, Reduit 80837, Mauritius.
authors.forename: Romeela
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mohee
authors.affiliation: Centre for Environmental Science and Technology, Central University of Punjab, Bathinda 155001, Punjab, India.
authors.forename: Vinod Kumar
authors.initials: VK
authors.lastname: Garg
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000076282:Composting; D006040:Goals; D006801:Humans; D009835:Oligochaeta; D059027:Recycling; D012499:Sanitation; D012987:Soil; D062611:Solid Waste
chemical_list: D012987:Soil; D062611:Solid Waste
keywords: Compost; Escherichia coli; Organic waste; Pathogenic bacteria; Sanitization; Vermicomposting