Composting of Organic Waste in Hong Kong

Food waste management is a greatest urban issue in Hong Kong and composting of food waste was adapted to reduce the burden of landfill usage. But, composting of food waste had a significant problem due to the high oil and moisture contents. Moreover, the final quality of the compost produced from food waste was not meeting the standard values. In this research focus, we aimed to utilize the food waste for compost preparation using different bulking agents to improve the nutrient quality of compost.

From the overall experiments conducted, the following publications were published.

Ying Zhou, Ammaiyappan Selvam, Jonathan W.C.Wong. 2018. Chinese medicinal herbal residues as a bulking agent for food waste composting. Bioresource Technology. Volume 249, February 2018, Pages 182-188 [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2017.09.212].

XuanWang, Ammaiyappan Selvamab, Sam S.S.Lauc, Jonathan W.C.Wong. 2018. Influence of lime and struvite on microbial community succession and odour emission during food waste composting. Bioresource Technology. Volume 247, January 2018, Pages 652-659 [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2017.07.091].

Sanjeev Kumar Awasthi, Jonathan W.C.Wong, Jiao Lia , Sunil Kumard, Mukesh Kumar Awasthi. Evaluation of microbial dynamics during post-consumption food waste composting. Bioresource Technology. Volume 251, March 2018, Pages 181-188.[https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2017.12.040].

Mukesh Kumar Awasthi, Ammaiyappan Selvam, Man Ting Chan, Jonathan W.C.Wong. 2018. Bio-degradation of oily food waste employing thermophilic bacterial strains. Bioresource Technology. Volume 248, Part A, January 2018, Pages 141-147. [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2017.06.115].

Mukesh KumarAwasthi, Jonathan W.C.Wong, Sunil Kumard, Sanjeev Kumar Awasthi, Quan Wang, Meijing Wang, Xiuna Ren, Junchao Zhao, Hongyu, Chen, Zengqiang Zhang. 2018. Biodegradation of food waste using microbial cultures producing thermostable α-amylase and cellulase under different pH and temperature. Bioresource Technology. Volume 248, Part B, January 2018, Pages 160-170. [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2017.06.160].

Wong, J.W.C.*, Karthikeyan, O.P., Selvam, A. 2017. Biological nutrient transformation during composting of pig manure and paper waste. Environmental Technology 38(6): 754-761. [DOI: 10.1080/09593330.2016.1211747; Taylor & Francis; IF: 1.760].

Mukesh Kumar Awasthi, Ammaiyappan Selvam, Ka Man Lai, Jonathan W.C.Wong. 2017. Critical evaluation of post-consumption food waste composting employing thermophilic bacterial consortium. Bioresource Technology. Volume 245, Part A, December 2017, Pages 665-672. [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2017.09.014].

Wong, J.W.C., Selvam, A., Awasthi, M.K. Composting for Organic Waste Management. In: Wong, J.W.C., Surampalli R.Y., Zhang, T.C., Tyagi, R.D., and Selvam, A. (Eds.), Sustainable Solid Waste Management, ASCE publication, 2016, Chapter 9, 233-272, ISBN 978-0-7844-1410-1 (print); ISBN 978-0-7844-7930-8 (PDF).

Wong, J.W.C., Wang, X.Y., Selvam, A. 2016. Improving compost quality through controlling nitrogen loss during composting. In: Current Developments in Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Book 5: Solid Waste Management, (Eds.) Wong, J.W.C., Tyagi, R.D., and Pandey, A. Elsevier Publications, Chapter 4, 2016.

Zhou, Y., Selvam, A., Wong, J.W.C. 2016. Effect of Chinese medicinal herbal residues on microbial community succession and anti-pathogenic properties during co-composting with food waste. Bioresource Technology, 217, 190-199. [DOI:10.1016/j.biortech.2016.03.080; ISSN: 0960-8524; Elsevier; IF: 4.917].

Chan, M.T., Selvam, A., Wong, J.W.C. 2016. Reducing nitrogen loss and salinity during ‘struvite” food waste composting by zeolite amendment. Bioresource Technology, 200, 838-844 [DOI:10.1016/j.biortech.2015.10.093; ISSN: 0960-8524; Elsevier; IF: 4.917].

Wang, X., Selvam, A., Wong, J.W.C. 2016. Influence of lime on struvite formation and nitrogen conservation during food waste composting. Bioresource Technology, 217, 227-232. [DOI:10.1016/j.biortech.2016.02.117; ISSN: 0960-8524; Elsevier; IF: 4.917].

Ravindran, B., Wong, J.W.C., Selvam, A., Thirunavukarasu, K., Sekaran, G. 2016. Microbial biodegradation of proteinaceous tannery solid waste and production of a novel value added product – Metalloprotease. Bioresource Technology, 217, 150-156. [DOI:10.1016/j.biortech.2016.03.033; ISSN: 0960-8524; Elsevier; IF: 4.917].

Ravindran, B., Wong, J.W.C., Selvam, A., Sekaran, G. 2016. Influence of microbial diversity and plant growth hormones in compost and vermicompost from fermented tannery waste. Bioresource Technology, 217, 200-204. [DOI:10.1016/j.biortech.2016.03.032; ISSN: 0960-8524; Elsevier; IF: 4.917].

Awasthi, M.K., Pandey, A.K., Bundela, P.S., Wong, J.W.C., Li, R., Zhang, Z. 2016. Co-composting of gelatin industry sludge combined with organic fraction of municipal solid waste and poulty waste employing zeolite mixed with enriched nitrifying bacterial consortium. Bioresource Technology, 213, 181-189. [doi: 10.1016/j.biortech.2016.02.026; ISSN: 0960-8524; Elsevier; IF: 4.917].

Wong, J.W.C., Karthikeyan, O.P., Selvam, A. Accepted. Biological nutrient transformation during composting of pig manure and paper waste. Environmental Technology, 38 (6), 754-761. [doi.org/10.1080/09593330.2016.1211747; ISSN: 0959-3330; Taylor & Francis; IF: 1.760].