Waste Management xxx (2015) xxx–xxx

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Waste Management
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/wasman

Biowaste home composting: Experimental process monitoring

and quality control
Fabio Tatàno ⇑, Giacomo Pagliaro, Paolo Di Giovanni, Enrico Floriani, Filippo Mangani
DiSBeF – Department of Basic Sciences and Foundations, Section of Bio-Mathematics, Environmental Modeling and Engineering, University of Urbino ‘‘Carlo Bo’’, Campus Scientifico
‘‘E. Mattei’’, 61029 Urbino, Italy

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Because home composting is a prevention option in managing biowaste at local levels, the objective of
Received 22 August 2014 the present study was to contribute to the knowledge of the process evolution and compost quality that
Accepted 12 December 2014 can be expected and obtained, respectively, in this decentralized option. In this study, organized as the
Available online xxxx
research portion of a provincial project on home composting in the territory of Pesaro-Urbino (Central
Italy), four experimental composters were first initiated and temporally monitored. Second, two small
Keywords: sub-sets of selected provincial composters (directly operated by households involved in the project)
Biowaste
underwent quality control on their compost products at two different temporal steps. The monitored
Composting duration
Home composting
experimental composters showed overall decreasing profiles versus composting time for moisture,
Kinetic analysis organic carbon, and C/N, as well as overall increasing profiles for electrical conductivity and total nitro-
Process monitoring gen, which represented qualitative indications of progress in the process. Comparative evaluations of the
Quality control monitored experimental composters also suggested some interactions in home composting, i.e., high C/N
ratios limiting organic matter decomposition rates and final humification levels; high moisture contents
restricting the internal temperature regime; nearly horizontal phosphorus and potassium evolutions con-
tributing to limit the rates of increase in electrical conductivity; and prolonged biowaste additions con-
tributing to limit the rate of decrease in moisture. The measures of parametric data variability in the two
sub-sets of controlled provincial composters showed decreased variability in moisture, organic carbon,
and C/N from the seventh to fifteenth month of home composting, as well as increased variability in elec-
trical conductivity, total nitrogen, and humification rate, which could be considered compatible with the
respective nature of decreasing and increasing parameters during composting. The modeled parametric
kinetics in the monitored experimental composters, along with the evaluation of the parametric central
tendencies in the sub-sets of controlled provincial composters, all indicate that 12–15 months is a suit-
able duration for the appropriate development of home composting in final and simultaneous compliance
with typical reference limits.
Ó 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction cannot be prevented (European Commission, 2010). Moreover, the

European strategy for waste prevention generally calls for preven-
In accordance with the framework waste legislation (Directive tion actions to be taken at all geographical scales of governance,
2008/98/EC), the European Union’s approach to solid waste man- including regional and local levels (European Commission, 2005).
agement is based on an integrated, hierarchical system with waste At local territorial levels, the combined option of segregating
prevention as the highest priority. In line with this priority, and to domestic biodegradable waste at the source and directly destining
comply with the further requirement of the European landfill it to home composting may be seen as a valuable prevention action
directive (1999/31/EC) to progressively reduce the amount of contributing to reduce the generation of household waste (Onida,
municipal biodegradable waste going to landfills, prevention mea- 2000; Cox et al., 2010). In fact, biowaste home composting closes
sures and programs are expected and particularly encouraged for the material loop directly at the source place (usually, the owned
the biowaste category, followed by recovery options based on sep- garden or land) and does not imply any external waste collection,
arate collection and biological treatment systems for biowaste that transport, or management actions (with their related costs) nor
should any residual waste be generated by the locally performed
⇑ Corresponding author. Tel.: +39 0722 304 264; fax: +39 0722 304 275. process (Onida, 2000; Zurbrügg et al., 2004; Adhikari et al.,
E-mail address: [email protected] (F. Tatàno). 2010). However, although the alternative and predominant

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2014.12.011
0956-053X/Ó 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Please cite this article in press as: Tatàno, F., et al. Biowaste home composting: Experimental process monitoring and quality control. Waste Management
(2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2014.12.011
2 F. Tatàno et al. / Waste Management xxx (2015) xxx–xxx

recovery option of centralized composting of organic waste has in the hilly municipal territory of Urbino; (3) ‘‘comp-residential-
been widely studied and developed at the industrial level and well p’’ composter, which served a multi-occupancy residential building
addressed in international waste/biowaste management hand- with a garden (‘‘residential’’) situated in the municipal territory of
books (Tchobanoglous et al., 1993; Krogmann et al., 2010; the coastal town of Pesaro (‘‘p’’); and (4) ‘‘comp-rural-f’’ composter,
Epstein, 2011), including the evaluation of sustainable and inte- which served a rural house with land (‘‘rural’’) situated in the
grated applications to exploit the heat available from the process municipal territory of the coastal town of Fano (‘‘f’’). Each experi-
(Rada et al., 2014), biowaste home composting has only recently mental composter was of the same type (model 310, Mattiussi
begun to be analyzed from a technical and scientific perspective Ecologia, Italy) as that adopted in the aforementioned provincial
(Colón et al., 2010). In particular, some studies have recently project, with the following characteristics (Fig. 1, right): polypro-
focused on the following issues with biowaste home composting: pylene composition, truncate conical body, 92 cm in height and
(1) citizen attitude and behavior as evaluated by investigations 80 cm in maximum diameter, volumetric capacity of 0.31 m3, and
including interviews, questionnaires, and focus groups (Tucker equipped with a circular opening lid on the upper part (for bio-
et al., 2003; Curtis et al., 2009); (2) the quantitative impact in waste addition) and a side sliding door on guides (for control, sam-
terms of amounts of avoided waste per household and unit time pling, and final compost withdrawal). To provide natural aeration
(Smith and Jasim, 2009; Cox et al., 2010; Sharp et al., 2010); and into the composter, the cylindrical-shaped bottom had channels,
(3) the environmental assessment of the entire process based on slits, and an internal vertical cone with non-clogging holes, and
the life cycle assessment methodology, with the preliminary indi- additional slits were located on the upper rim and beneath the lid.
viduation of the pertaining inventories (McKinley and Williams, The experimental composters were placed outdoors in partial
2007; Amlinger et al., 2008; Andersen et al., 2011, 2012; Colón shading conditions, directly onto stable but uncompacted soil.
et al., 2010). The biowaste feeding operations began in spring (end of April)
In conjunction with the quantitative and life cycle-based evalu- for all experimental composters and continued for a period of
ations, a comprehensive technical-scientific view of biowaste seven months in ‘‘comp-uni-u’’, ‘‘comp-residential-p’’, and
home composting should also include increasing the currently lim- ‘‘comp-rural-f’’ composters and for a total of thirteen months in
ited knowledge of the process performance and efficiency in the ‘‘comp-house-u’’ composter. The experimental composters were
composting units (Karnchanawong and Suriyanon, 2011; fed approximately twice a week, which is a feeding frequency pre-
Ermolaev et al., 2014). Indicatively, a comparative analysis on the viously adopted in another study of home composting (Andersen
characterization of product samples from home and industrial et al., 2010). Each feeding operation generally consisted of a com-
composting, with particular attention to their stability, appeared bination of the two complementary streams of biowaste (i.e.,
only recently (Barrena et al., 2014). Therefore, in the present exper- kitchen and green waste) added in a volumetric proportion of
imental study, it seemed appropriate to focus on (1) the monitor- approximately 1:1. The volumetric basis of the feeding operations
ing and analysis of the temporal evolution of the home was provided by a 7-liter capacity plastic container that was orig-
composting process and (2) the evaluation of the quality of com- inally supplied with each composter for the temporary collection
post products that can be obtained in practice by households of the sorted organic waste. The delivered kitchen waste generally
implementing this decentralized approach. This study was per- consisted of fresh and cooked food residuals generated by the
formed as the technical-scientific portion of a project on the local aforementioned producers for their respective experimental com-
feasibility of home composting managed by the provincial author- posters. The green waste inputs were expected to provide structure
ity in the territory of Pesaro-Urbino (Marche Region, Central Italy, and porosity (Colón et al., 2010; Martínez-Blanco et al., 2010;
Adriatic Sea side), where the University of Urbino is located. In par- Andersen et al., 2011, 2012). Referring indicatively to ‘‘comp-uni-
ticular, the provincial project involved the distribution of identical u’’ and ‘‘comp-residential-p’’ composters, the resulting average
composters to over 1600 households for the home composting of weekly amounts of feeding mixture were 5.6 and 5.4 kg week1,
domestic biowaste for an extended period of fifteen months. In respectively. Compared with relevant experimental studies on
the technical-scientific research component of the project, firstly the life cycle assessment of home composting, these resulting aver-
the temporal evolution of the home composting process was stud- age weekly amounts are within the range of weekly additions of
ied at the University of Urbino by initially organizing and tempo- biowaste mixture, with lower values of 2.7–3.7 kg week1 reported
rally monitoring four specific experimental composters. Then, to by Andersen et al. (2010, 2011), and higher values of 11.4 and
obtain an indication of the actual performance of home compost- 18.0 kg week1 reported by Martínez-Blanco et al. (2010) and
ing carried out by households directly involved in the provincial Colón et al. (2010), respectively. Further, the resulting values of
project, two small sub-sets of household composters (selected by 5.4 and 5.6 kg week1 are consistent with the overall range of aver-
the provincial authority) underwent quality control on their com- age weekly additions of 4.6–6.9 kg week1 reported by McKinley
post products at the University of Urbino with a temporal differen- and Williams (2007) based on a literature review of home com-
tiation. For a realistic evaluation of the monitoring and control of posting data. Specifically, these similar values of 5.4 and
biowaste home composting, the obtained results were compared 5.6 kg week1 are representative of the potential processing of
with available reference limits for several of the characterized organic waste with home composting by a three-member family
parameters. in accordance with the updated waste management plan devel-
oped by the Marche Region (Marche Region, 2014).
2. Materials and methods The temporal monitoring of the home composting process
relied on the determination of the following parameters for each
2.1. Process monitoring of experimental composters experimental composter: (1) moisture, pH, electrical conductivity,
and volatile solids, determined on a monthly basis from the second
The following experimental composters (‘‘comp’’) located in the to the tenth month since the biowaste feedings began; (2) total
provincial territory of Pesaro-Urbino were initiated and temporally nitrogen (assumed as the sum of organic and ammonia nitrogen:
monitored (Fig. 1, left): (1) ‘‘comp-uni-u’’ composter, which served ANPA, 2001; Adhikari et al., 2013), extractable phosphorus (as
the scientific campus (canteen and green area maintenance) of the P2O5) and potassium (as K2O), determined on a monthly basis from
University of Urbino (‘‘uni’’) situated in a green hilly area close to the sixth–seventh to the tenth month since the biowaste feedings
the inland town of Urbino (‘‘u’’); (2) ‘‘comp-house-u’’ composter, began; and (3) a conclusive characterization of all previous param-
which served a detached house with a garden (‘‘house’’) situated eters in the thirteenth month since the biowaste feedings began

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 F. Tatàno et al. / Waste Management xxx (2015) xxx–xxx 3

Adriatic cylindrical- circular

“comp- Sea
residential-p” shaped opening lid

used composter (“comp”)

bottom

side
“comp- door
rural-f”

“comp-uni-u” and
“comp-house-u”

Fig. 1. Municipal locations of the monitored experimental composters (left), and representative picture of the composter used (right).

along with the additional determination of humified organic car- Section 2.1). Then, the anonymous samples were delivered to the
bon (HA + FA, the combined humic and fulvic acid fractions) and University of Urbino, and the following quality control campaigns
heavy metals (cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, nickel, and zinc). were performed: (1) for the first sub-set of fourteen household
The mixture samples for these determinations were collected from compost samples, collected in an intermediate step (i.e., the sev-
the lower layers in the composters using plastic tools through the enth month since the beginning of the provincial home composting
lateral accesses (Fig. 1, right). Three primary samples were project), moisture, pH, electrical conductivity, volatile solids,
extracted from horizontally spaced points (approximately at the humified organic carbon, total nitrogen, extractable phosphorus
same heights from the bottom of the composters) for subsequent and potassium, heavy metals (cadmium, chromium, copper, lead,
laboratory mixing. The samples were stored in plastic containers nickel, and zinc), and Salmonella were determined; and (2) for
with inserts and ribbed caps. Representatively, the internal tem- the other sub-set of thirteen household compost samples, collected
perature was recorded for one of the two inland composters (i.e., at the end of the provincial home composting project (i.e., fifteen
‘‘comp-uni-u’’) and one of the two coastal composters (i.e., months after the project began), the previous parameters were
‘‘comp-residential-p’’). Specifically, the temperature monitoring determined, with the exception of heavy metals and Salmonella.
was performed twice weekly for ‘‘comp-uni-u’’ composter from
the second to the eighth month of home composting and on a daily 2.3. Analytical procedures and considered reference limits
basis for ‘‘comp-residential-p’’ composter from the second to the
sixth month (first ten days) of home composting. The analytical procedures for the aforementioned parametric
determinations were performed following the analytical methods
2.2. Selection and compost quality evaluation of the sub-sets of published by the Italian Environmental Protection Agency (ANPA,
provincial composters 2001) and the Italian Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (Italian
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, 2000). A synthetic description
To select the aforementioned small sub-sets of provincial of the adopted procedures is provided in Table S2 of the Supple-
households directly involved in the home composting project at mentary material. In particular, the volatile solids determination
the provincial territorial level of Pesaro-Urbino, a descriptive sta- was assumed to be indicative of the organic matter content
tistical analysis (in terms of resulting frequency distributions) (ANPA, 2001). Consequently, the total organic carbon (TOC) con-
was initially performed on the categorical household characteristic tent was calculated by multiplying the organic matter content by
data from the completed questionnaires that were originally dis- 0.58 (according to the ‘‘Van Bemmelen’’ conversion factor: Italian
tributed by the provincial authority to the households experiment- Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, 2000; European
ing with home composting. The content of the questionnaire is Commission, 2006). Based on the available HA + FA and TOC con-
synoptically provided in Table S1 of the Supplementary material. tents, a pertinent parameter to evaluate the humification level
Then, a cascading data filtering procedure was organized in a com- was derived, namely the humification rate (HR) defined as the per-
puter worksheet by purposely extracting at each filter step house- centage of HA + FA with respect to TOC (Tomati et al., 1995; ANPA,
holds belonging to the predominant category within each of the 2001). Because the two correlated aspects of compost maturation
following characteristics (in cascading order): (1) the number of and stabilization imply the formation of humic substances, the
persons per household; (2) the household education level; (3) the evaluation of the organic matter humification degree is considered
extension of available garden/land; and (4) the housing location. As a possible parametric criterion for assessing compost maturity or
a result of this applied procedure, a statistically filtered and limited stability (García-Go9 mez et al., 2005; Bernal et al., 2009). Internal
group of representative households was obtained from the overall temperature monitoring in ‘‘comp-uni-u’’ and ‘‘comp-residential-
set of households that completed questionnaires. Finally, within p’’ composters was performed using a portable thermocouple.
this representative group, the provincial authority autonomously Ambient temperatures were obtained from the recorded daily data
selected two different small sub-sets of households, consisting of from the Meteorological Observatory ‘‘A. Serpieri’’ of the University
fourteen and thirteen units. The compost samples were directly of Urbino relating to the weather station located on the scientific
collected by the provincial authority from the selected sub-sets campus, for comparison with ‘‘comp-uni-u’’ composter, and from
of household composters in two different temporal steps. The the Seismic-Meteorological Observatory ‘‘Valerio’’ relating to the
adopted sampling procedure was similar to that used for the weather station located in Pesaro, for comparison with ‘‘comp-
monitored experimental composters (as previously outlined in residential-p’’ composter.

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4 F. Tatàno et al. / Waste Management xxx (2015) xxx–xxx

Table 1 and Suthar (2007) (for increases in total nitrogen, available phos-
Parametric reference limits considered in this study for the monitoring and quality phorus, and exchangeable potassium).
control of the home composting process.
For the selected provincial composters, the parametric data
Parameter Limit Regulation sub-sets obtained from each quality control campaign were statis-
Moisture (%, w/w) 650 Legislative Decree No. 75/2010 tically evaluated through the visual summary provided by the box-
pH 6–8.8 Ministerial Decree No. and-whisker plot approach (Anderson and Finn, 1996). Typically,
10.07.2013 this plot consists of a box running from the lower to the upper
Organic carbon (% dm) P20 Legislative Decree No. 75/2010
quartiles, with a horizontal segment at the location of the middle
Humified organic carbon – P7 Legislative Decree No. 75/2010
HA + FA (% dm) quartile. Thus, the box itself compactly conveys both a robust mea-
C/N 625 Legislative Decree No. 75/2010 sure of central tendency, the median, and a robust measure of var-
Total nitrogen (% dm) >1 Resolution No. 27.07.1984 iability, the interquartile range (IQR, i.e., the difference between
Phosphorus (as P2O5) (% dm) >0.5 Resolution No. 27.07.1984
the upper and lower quartiles) (Giudici, 2003). This graphical rep-
Potassium (as K2O) (% dm) >0.4 Resolution No. 27.07.1984
Cadmium (mg kg1 dm) 61.5 Legislative Decree No. 75/2010
resentation is completed with two vertical segments (whiskers)
Chromium (mg kg1 dm) <100 Eco-label to soil improvers extending from the box to the smallest and largest measures
(2006/799/EC) within 1.5 times the IQR, and any possible outliers are marked
Copper (mg kg1 dm) 6230 Legislative Decree No. 75/2010 individually outside the whiskers. To confirm the visual indications
Lead (mg kg1 dm) 6140 Legislative Decree No. 75/2010
of data asymmetry also derivable from the box-and-whisker plots,
Nickel (mg kg1 dm) 6100 Legislative Decree No. 75/2010
Zinc (mg kg1 dm) 6500 Legislative Decree No. 75/2010 the provincial data sub-sets for some parameters were further
Salmonella (cfu 25 g1) Absent Legislative Decree No. 75/2010 evaluated by computing the asymmetry (or skewness) index,
defined as the third central moment divided by the standard devi-
dm: dry matter.
ation cubed (Giudici, 2003).
The regression analysis of the exponential or linear fitting pro-
cedure, the box-and-whisker plot generation, and the asymmetry
The compost reference limits assumed in this study are index determination were conducted using KaleidaGraph software
reported in Table 1. These limit values were primarily derived from (version 4.0, Synergy Software).
the Italian Legislative Decree No. 75/2010 on fertilizers (as
amended by the subsequent Ministerial Decree No. 10.07.2013)
with reference to the soil improver category of biocompost (or 3. Results and discussion
alternately definable as composted mixed soil improver), which
is generable from source-separated organic waste inclusive of the 3.1. Monitored experimental composters
organic fraction of municipal solid waste (MSW) and green and
vegetable waste. Specifically, the limit value for chromium was 3.1.1. Temperature profiles
obtained from the European eco-label criteria for soil improvers Fig. 2 shows the temperature profiles monitored in two exper-
(European Commission, 2006), and those for total nitrogen, phos- imental composters. For ‘‘comp-uni-u’’ composter, the left side of
phorus, and potassium were from the original Italian Resolution Fig. 2 shows an internal temperature profile characterized by an
No. 27.07.1984 on MSW compost. initial increase followed by a decrease finally approaching ambient
temperature, which can be traced back to the typical rise and fall
2.4. Statistical analysis of monitoring and quality control data change in temperature with time expected in the traditional wind-
row composting (Tchobanoglous et al., 1993). Conversely, ‘‘comp-
For the monitored experimental composters, simple statistical residential-p’’ composter presented in the right side of Fig. 2 a
measures were first calculated for the internal and ambient fluctuating temperature profile. The composters in available exper-
temperature data sets characterizing ‘‘comp-uni-u’’ and ‘‘comp- imental studies (on gas emission from and environmental assess-
residential-p’’ composters. Then, consistent with a general ment of home composting and comparing differently configured
assumption of first-order kinetics for the expected temporal decay units) effectively reflected the possible diversity of resulting tem-
of organic matter or contaminants in a solid matrix during a com- perature profiles: assimilable to a rise and fall behavior
posting process (Hamoda et al., 1998; In et al., 2007; Kuhad et al., (Karnchanawong and Suriyanon, 2011; Adhikari et al., 2013), pre-
2011), monthly parametric measures that visually showed an over- senting significant fluctuations (Amlinger et al., 2008; Colón
all temporal decrease were modeled with a first-order curve of the et al., 2010), or closely following seasonal changes (Andersen
typical form: et al., 2010). In terms of microbial temperature regimes (Diaz
Pm;t ¼ Pm;0  eðktÞ ð1Þ et al., 2002), the ranges of internal temperatures reported in Table 2
indicate that ‘‘comp-uni-u’’ composter developed both mesophilic
where Pm,0 is the starting parametric value, t is the composting time and thermophilic conditions up to a recorded maximum value of
in months, and k is the rate constant in units of reciprocal time. 58 °C, whereas only mesophilic conditions characterized ‘‘comp-
Instead, monthly parametric measures that visually showed an residential-p’’ composter up to a recorded maximum value of
overall temporal increase, or at least such a presumable trend, were 38 °C. Because diversified microbial populations generally evolve
evaluated with the simplest zero-order relationship (Kuo, 1999), and dominate during a small-scale composting process
representable with a typical straight line form: (Ryckeboer et al., 2003), chances are that, in any given instant in
time in mesophilic or thermophilic conditions, internal tempera-
Pm;t ¼ Pm;0 þ k  t ð2Þ
ture results effectively appropriate for some microbial group
where Pm,0 is the vertical intercept, and the line slope k represents (Diaz et al., 2002). In particular, the overall development of exo-
the rate constant expressed in the given parametric units associated thermic microbial activity under aerobic conditions (Diaz and
with reciprocal time. To model parametric temporal increases dur- Savage, 2007; Smith and Jasim, 2009; Stentiford and de Bertoldi,
ing composting or vermicomposting processes, the assumption of a 2010) in both experimental composters, although under the afore-
linear relationship was specifically documented in N’Dayegamiye mentioned differences in the microbial operating conditions, is
and Isfan (1991) (for increases in pH and nitrate nitrogen), revealed in Table 2 by the increases in internal temperature of
Charest and Beauchamp (2002) (for increase in total nitrogen), 5.4 and 16.9 °C (average) or 5.2 and 12.8 °C (median) above

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 F. Tatàno et al. / Waste Management xxx (2015) xxx–xxx 5

ambient temperature in ‘‘comp-residential-p’’ and ‘‘comp-uni-u’’ Except for the second month in ‘‘comp-rural-f’’ composter and the
composters, respectively. seventh to ninth months in ‘‘comp-residential-p’’ composter, the
pH measures in the experimental composters evolved respecting
3.1.2. Temporal evolutions of moisture, pH, and electrical conductivity the reference interval given in Table 1.
Fig. 3 shows the resulting temporal evolutions of moisture As shown in the lower diagram of Fig. 3, the measures of elec-
(upper diagram), pH (central diagram), and electrical conductivity trical conductivity in the experimental composters increased over-
(lower diagram) in the monitored experimental composters. all versus monthly composting time, except for the concentrated
Except for the initial monitoring months (from the second to the fluctuation in ‘‘comp-rural-f’’ composter between the fifth and sev-
fourth/fifth) in two composters (i.e., ‘‘comp-rural-f’’ and ‘‘comp- enth months of home composting. In general, the increase in elec-
residential-p’’), the upper diagram of Fig. 3 shows overall decreases trical conductivity, which parametrically reflects the salinity of the
in measured moisture contents versus monthly composting time, matrix, is an additional indication of progress in the composting
which can be seen as indicative of progress in the composting pro- process as the gradual decomposition of organic matter is usually
cess (de Bertoldi et al., 1990; Liu et al., 2011). However, only two accompanied by the increased relative concentration of different
experimental composters (i.e., ‘‘comp-rural-f’’ and ‘‘comp-residen- mineral ions (Cáceres et al., 2006; Liu et al., 2011). By the thir-
tial-p’’) had moisture contents less than the corresponding upper teenth month of home composting, only the electrical conductivity
limit from Table 1 in the final (thirteenth) month of home com- measure in ‘‘comp-rural-f’’ composter remained greater than
posting, whereas in the other two composters, the final moisture 5 dS m1, the value indicated in Epstein (2011) as an upper thresh-
contents remained above the considered limit. Indeed, even the old above which potential phytotoxicity can occur. However, this
moisture content of compost products from different sources, com- phytotoxic behavior may be of concern especially in the specific
mercially available and obtained from composting facilities, is application of compost as potting material, if used undiluted or
reported to vary widely by up to 70% or more (Lasaridi et al., in large amounts in potting mixtures (Manios, 2004; Lasaridi
2006; Boldrin et al., 2010). In general, an upper limitation to the et al., 2006). Moreover, even analyzed commercial compost prod-
moisture content of finished compost is required to avoid storage, ucts had high electrical conductivity values, from 6 to over
transport, and handling difficulties (Krogmann et al., 2010); how- 12 dS m1 (Lasaridi et al., 2006).
ever, these aspects do not particularly affect the home composting
approach because the obtained compost is expected to be used 3.1.3. Temporal evolutions of organic carbon, C/N, total nitrogen,
directly on the household garden or land (Andersen et al., 2011). phosphorus, and potassium
Notably, the higher moisture contents in ‘‘comp-residential-p’’ Fig. 4 shows the resulting temporal evolutions of organic carbon
composter compared with ‘‘comp-uni-u’’ composter, shown in (upper diagram), C/N ratio (central diagram), and total nitrogen
Fig. 3 (upper diagram), in particular from the second to the eighth (lower diagram) in the monitored experimental composters. For
month of composting, could have contributed to the lower internal organic carbon (upper diagram of Fig. 4), the experimental compo-
temperature regime in ‘‘comp-residential-p’’ composter (previ- sters exhibited overall decreases in measured contents versus
ously shown in Fig. 2 and Table 2). Greater water content is indi- monthly composting time, reflecting the progressive decomposi-
rectly expected to limit the internal temperature increase due to tion of organic matter by the microbial community (Andersen
both a reduction in air-filled pores, which is detrimental to natural et al., 2011; Liu et al., 2011). The measured contents of organic car-
aeration, and a lower total dry mass of the filled heap, which is bon shown in the upper diagram of Fig. 4 evolved respecting the
unfavorable to heat entrapment (Vallini et al., 1994; lower limit of Table 1, with the exception of the final content in
Karnchanawong and Suriyanon, 2011; Adhikari et al., 2013). ‘‘comp-rural-f’’ composter, which was just below the considered
After a possible initial drop that most likely occurred during the limit.
first month of home composting (Karnchanawong and Suriyanon, The central diagram of Fig. 4 shows that the initially measured
2011), the pH evolutions presented in the central diagram of Fig. 3 C/N values (in the seventh monitoring month) in two experimental
appear to be in qualitative agreement with the typically expected composters (i.e., ‘‘comp-uni-u’’ and ‘‘comp-house-u’’) were greater
pH-time profile of the composting process (Tchobanoglous et al., than 30–40, above which the technical-scientific literature indi-
1993; Vallini et al., 1994). In particular, the experimental compo- cates the possibility of slowing the composting process (Vallini
sters showed a similar temporal sequence with a phase of increasing et al., 1994; Diaz et al., 2002; Krogmann et al., 2010). Conversely,
pH (although varying from an intense, prolonged increase in ‘‘comp- the initially measured C/N values (in the sixth monitoring month)
residential-p’’ to a slighter, temporally limited increase in ‘‘comp- in ‘‘comp-residential-p’’ and ‘‘comp-rural-f’’ remained lower com-
uni-u’’) followed by a decreasing phase (although with a final pared with the previous composters. This variation in the initially
increased value in the thirteenth month in ‘‘comp-rural-f’’ only). measured C/N values in the experimental composters probably

60 40
Ambient air Internal (comp-
(University
50 35 residential-p)
Temperature (°C)

campus)
Temperature (°C)

Internal (comp- Ambient air

40 uni-u) 30 (Pesaro)

30 25

20 20

10 15

0 10
0 30 60 90 120 150 180 210 0 30 60 90 120
Time (days) Time (days)

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 2 3 4 5 6
Months of home composting Months of home composting

Fig. 2. Internal temperature profiles monitored in the experimental composters ‘‘comp-uni-u’’ (left) and ‘‘comp-residential-p’’ (right) in comparison with ambient
temperature profiles. Temperature recording was performed from the second to the eighth month of home composting in ‘‘comp-uni-u’’ and from the second to the sixth
month (first ten days) in ‘‘comp-residential-p’’.

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Table 2
Statistical measures for the monitored temperature profiles of ‘‘comp-uni-u’’ and ‘‘comp-residential-p’’ composters (see Fig. 2).

Temperature parameter No. of data Min (°C) Max (°C) Mean (°C) Median (°C)
‘‘Comp-uni-u’’ composter
Tinternal 56 7.0 58.0 32.7 34.0
Tambient air 214 0.3 28.3 15.9 16.9
Tinternal  Tambient air 56 0.0 38.5 16.9 12.8
‘‘Comp-residential-p’’ composter
Tinternal 132 14.0 38.0 26.4 26.5
Tambient air 132 12.0 28.4 21.0 22.1
Tinternal  Tambient air 132 0.2 13.1 5.4 5.2

reflects the variety of components with differing C/N characteris- the limit and greater than the initially monitored value (in the
tics present in the categories of kitchen and garden/land wastes. sixth month). In effect, these resulting diversified behaviors are
Effectively, garden/land waste materials include either relatively indicative of observable changes in the phosphorus and potassium
high C/N ratio types (such as straw, leaves, wood and bark, contents during a composting process that can vary from increas-
branches, and shrub trimmings) or relatively low C/N ratio types ing to decreasing over time (Adler and Sikora, 2004; Lin, 2008;
(such as grass clippings, tree trimmings, mixed grasses, small stuff Irshad et al., 2013). The difference in temporal evolution is depen-
with flowers and soil, and farmyard manure); similarly, either rel- dent upon whether the prevailing condition leads to (1) the con-
atively high C/N ratio types (such as fruit residues, potatoes, centration effect due to the progressive decomposition of organic
cooked meat scraps, and egg shells) or relatively low C/N ratio matter or (2) the reduction of extractable phosphorus and potas-
types (such as vegetable scraps, bread, fish scraps, and coffee sium due to leaching losses (which, particularly for phosphate,
grounds) occur among kitchen waste materials (Day and Shaw, may be favored by the presence of humified organic matter that
2001; Samples and Nash, 2001; Diaz et al., 2002; Niessen, 2002; masks or occupies matrix sorption sites) and/or due to transforma-
Khan, 2009; Boldrin and Christensen, 2010; Deublein and tion toward more stable forms (Bhatti et al., 1998; Traoré et al.,
Steinhauser, 2011). However, Fig. 4 (central diagram) shows that 1999; Sommer, 2001; Boldrin et al., 2010). However, the final
the C/N measures of the respective experimental composters more P2O5 contents (in the thirteenth month) in three experimental
or less clearly decreased overall versus monthly composting time, composters (i.e., ‘‘comp-uni-u’’, ‘‘comp-house-u’’, and ‘‘comp-resi-
which is qualitatively consistent with the C/N reduction generally dential-p’’) were within the very wide interval 0.22–23.36% dm
expected in the evolution of the composting process (Vallini et al., found in an array of analyzed compost products of different origins
1994; Day and Shaw, 2001; Diaz and Savage, 2007). As further (Crippa and Corti, 1998), whereas the final P2O5 content in ‘‘comp-
shown in the central diagram of Fig. 4, by the end of experimental rural-f’’ composter remained just at the lower limit of this interval.
composting, the C/N measures in all of the monitored composters Moreover, the final K2O contents (in the thirteenth month) in all
respected the corresponding upper limit given in Table 1. experimental composters were within the interval 0.08-4.93% dm
For total nitrogen (lower diagram of Fig. 4), the experimental found in the aforementioned array of compost products (Crippa
composters exhibited more or less pronounced overall increases and Corti, 1998).
in measured contents versus monthly composting time, with final
values (in the thirteenth month) well above the corresponding
lower limit given in Table 1. This increasing nitrogen condition 3.1.4. Final evaluation of humification conditions and heavy metal
appears in agreement with the concentration effect that is contents
generally expected in the composting process due the gradual Regarding the humification conditions in the monitored exper-
decomposition of organic matter, which causes a weight loss and, imental composters in the final (thirteenth) month of home com-
consequently, a relative increase in concentration (in terms of posting, Fig. 6 displays the resulting values of humified organic
dry matter) provided that a possible concurrent nitrogen loss is rel- carbon (left diagram) and HR (right diagram). The left diagram of
atively less than the weight loss (Saviozzi et al., 2004; Boldrin et al., Fig. 6 shows that the humified organic carbon contents detected
2010; Stentiford and de Bertoldi, 2010). in all of the experimental composters were greater than the lower
With final regard to extractable phosphorus and potassium, the limit given in Table 1. A pairwise evaluation of the final HR values
temporal evolutions in the experimental composters are reported in the right diagram of Fig. 6 indicates that higher values were
in Fig. 5. As shown in the left diagram of Fig. 5, two of the experi- reached in ‘‘comp-residential-p’’ and ‘‘comp-rural-f’’ compared
mental composters (i.e., ‘‘comp-uni-u’’ and ‘‘comp-house-u’’) with ‘‘comp-uni-u’’ and ‘‘comp-house-u’’ composters. As HR is
exhibited overall increases in measured P2O5 contents versus proportional to the progress of the humification and hence of the
monthly composting time, with final values (in the thirteenth stabilization of organic matter during composting (Tomati et al.,
month) well above the lower limit given in Table 1. In the other 1995; Madejón et al., 1998), the lower HR values that finally char-
experimental composters (i.e., ‘‘comp-residential-p’’ and ‘‘comp- acterized ‘‘comp-uni-u’’ and ‘‘comp-house-u’’ composters appear
rural-f’’), the respective measured P2O5 contents, shown in the left consistent with the slowing of the composting process that likely
diagram of Fig. 5, remained during the composting time almost occurred in these two composters due to their high C/N values that
horizontally below the considered lower limit. In the right diagram were revealed in the initial monitoring month (as observed in the
of Fig. 5, the K2O contents measured in ‘‘comp-uni-u’’ and ‘‘comp- central diagram of Fig. 4 and outlined in Section 3.1.3).
house-u’’ composters increased overall versus monthly compost- Referring to heavy metals, Table 3 shows that the measured
ing time and were constantly greater than the lower limit given contents in the final (thirteenth) month were well below the
in Table 1. Differently, the K2O contents measured in ‘‘comp-resi- respective limits of Table 1 in all experimental composters. These
dential-p’’ composter during the composting time remained just restricted levels confirm the importance of performing and con-
below or at the considered lower limit, whereas K2O contents in trolling the source segregation of biowaste for any composting
‘‘comp-rural-f’’ evolved by barely crossing the considered lower approach, including the home variant considered in this study, to
limit, presenting a final value (in the thirteenth month) just above minimize detrimental compost contamination by potentially toxic

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 F. Tatàno et al. / Waste Management xxx (2015) xxx–xxx 7

Fig. 3. Monitored experimental composters: temporal evolutions of moisture Fig. 4. Monitored experimental composters: temporal evolutions of organic carbon
(upper), pH (central), and electrical conductivity (lower). Symbols represent the (upper), C/N (central), and total nitrogen (lower). Symbols represent the experi-
experimental measures, and lines represent the fitted models (first-order decrease mental measures, and lines represent the fitted models (first-order decrease for
for moisture and zero-order increase for electrical conductivity). For the adopted organic carbon and C/N and zero-order increase for total nitrogen). For the adopted
limits (horizontal lines) for moisture and pH, see Table 1. limits (horizontal lines), see Table 1.

inorganic elements (Hogg et al., 2002; Smith, 2009; Barrena et al., organic carbon in Table 4 highlights the lower values in ‘‘comp-
2014). uni-u’’ and ‘‘comp-house-u’’ compared with ‘‘comp-residential-p’’
and ‘‘comp-rural-f’’ composters, thus indicating a slower organic
3.1.5. Modeling of temporal decreases and increases in parameters matter decomposition process in ‘‘comp-uni-u’’ and ‘‘comp-
Table 4 shows the resulting rate constants and coefficients of house-u’’ composters because a lower k value in a first-order
determination (R2) for the first-order decrease modeling of mois- decreasing kinetics implies more time taken to complete a definite
ture, organic carbon, and C/N measures in the experimental com- reduction fraction (Kuo, 1999; Niessen, 2002; In et al., 2007). This
posters, with corresponding curve fits drawn in the respective resulting condition appears consistent with both the high C/N val-
diagrams of Fig. 3 (moisture) and Fig. 4 (organic carbon and C/N). ues revealed in the initial monitoring month in ‘‘comp-uni-u’’ and
Notably, a pairwise evaluation of the rate constant results for ‘‘comp-house-u’’ composters (as shown in the central diagram of

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8 F. Tatàno et al. / Waste Management xxx (2015) xxx–xxx

Fig. 5. Monitored experimental composters: temporal evolutions of phosphorus (as P2O5: left) and potassium (as K2O: right). Symbols represent the experimental measures,
and lines represent the fitted models (zero-order increase for P2O5 and K2O in ‘‘comp-uni-u’’ and ‘‘comp-house-u’’ and for K2O in ‘‘comp-rural-f’’). For the adopted limits
(horizontal lines), see Table 1.

16 70
15.07 63.9
HA + FA (% dm)

12.34 60
12 49.6
10.48 50
9.12 39.1
HR (%)
40
8
30 26.3
lower
4 limit 20
10
0 0
comp-uni-u

comp-rural-f

comp-rural-f
comp-house-u

comp-uni-u
comp-residential-p

comp-house-u

comp-residential-p

Fig. 6. Monitored experimental composters: humified organic carbon (HA + FA: left) and humification rate (HR: right) in the final (thirteenth) month of home composting. For
the adopted limit (horizontal line) for HA + FA, see Table 1.

Fig. 4 and outlined in Section 3.1.3) and the lower HR values finally compared with the other composters, which indicates the compar-
obtained in these composters (as shown in the right diagram of ative need for more time to obtain a definite reduction fraction in
Fig. 6 and outlined in Section 3.1.4). Interestingly, the C/N model- moisture (Kuo, 1999; Niessen, 2002), could have been influenced
ing based on Eq. (1) in ‘‘comp-rural-f’’ and ‘‘comp-residential-p’’ by the prolonged time of the-biowaste feeding operations in this
composters also gave the estimated starting ratio values (as Pm,0) composter only (Tomati et al., 1995).
of 20.59 and 19.13, respectively. Thus, the starting C/N conditions Table 5 shows the resulting rate constants (as line slopes) and
were estimated to be either greater than the range from 15 to 20 R2 for the zero-order increase modeling of the experimental mea-
(in ‘‘comp-uni-u’’ and ‘‘comp-house-u’’, which were already sures of electrical conductivity, total nitrogen, P2O5, and K2O, with
greater in the seventh month) or essentially within this range (in corresponding straight-line fits drawn in the respective diagrams
‘‘comp-rural-f’’ and ‘‘comp-residential-p’’), representing in the of Fig. 3 (electrical conductivity), Fig. 4 (total nitrogen), and Fig. 5
technical-scientific literature a relevant threshold below which (phosphorus and potassium). Table 5 does not list a zero-order
only a partial nitrogen loss through ammonia volatilization or increase model for P2O5 and K2O in ‘‘comp-residential-p’’ compos-
nitrous oxide emission can be generally expected (Vallini et al., ter or for P2O5 in ‘‘comp-rural-f’’ composter because the respective
1994; Diaz et al., 2002; Diaz and Savage, 2007). The lower moisture R2 values were close to zero, so that the related values of the
decrease rate constant shown in Table 4 in ‘‘comp-house-u’’ correlation coefficient indicated a negligible or weak linear

Table 3
Monitored experimental composters: resulting heavy metal contents in the final (thirteenth) month of home composting.

Composter Cd (mg kg1 dm) Cr (mg kg1 dm) Cu (mg kg1 dm) Ni (mg kg1 dm) Pb (mg kg1 dm) Zn (mg kg1 dm)
Comp-uni-u ND 27.50 7.71 1.56 11.90 8.80
Comp-house-u ND ND 8.53 2.60 14.60 66.60
Comp-residential-p 0.40 34.00 26.71 1.12 8.35 7.96
Comp-rural-f 0.08 22.00 33.49 ND 4.13 4.83
Upper limit (see Table 1) 1.5 100 230 100 140 500

ND: Not Detected (i.e., less than the limit of analytical detection).

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 F. Tatàno et al. / Waste Management xxx (2015) xxx–xxx 9

relationship between the parametrical measures and the monitor- Table 5

ing time (Giudici, 2003; Hebel and McCarter, 2012), thus evidenc- Monitored experimental composters: resulting rate constants (k) and coefficients of
determination (R2) for the zero-order increase modeling of electrical conductivity,
ing nearly horizontal patterns (Motulsky and Christopoulos, 2004). nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium measures.
Notably, a pairwise evaluation of the slope values for electrical
conductivity in Table 5 highlights that lower slopes characterized Parameter Composter k (parameter unit R2
month1)
‘‘comp-rural-f’’ and ‘‘comp-residential-p’’ compared with ‘‘comp-
uni-u’’ and ‘‘comp-house-u’’ composters. This resulting condition Electrical Comp-uni-u 0.187 0.944
conductivity Comp-house-u 0.251 0.944
appears qualitatively consistent with the nearly horizontal Comp- 0.171 0.890
evolution in the P2O5 and K2O measures in ‘‘comp-residential-p’’ residential-p
composter and with the similarly horizontal evolution in the Comp-rural-f 0.159 0.447
P2O5 measures and the limited increase in the K2O measures in Total nitrogen Comp-uni-u 0.152 0.916
‘‘comp-rural-f’’ composter (as shown in Fig. 5 and outlined in Comp-house-u 0.173 0.973
Section 3.1.3, and further confirmed by the aforementioned find- Comp- 0.153 0.732
residential-p
ings on R2 and by the low k for potassium in ‘‘comp-rural-f’’
Comp-rural-f 0.056 0.445
reported in Table 5). The probable occurrence of leaching losses
P2O5 Comp-uni-u 0.258 0.858
(including phosphorus and potassium fractions) and/or formation
Comp-house-u 0.219 0.924
of precipitated forms (comprehensive of Ca and Mg phosphates)
K2O Comp-uni-u 0.216 0.945
(Traoré et al., 1999; Cáceres et al., 2006; Montemurro et al.,
Comp-house-u 0.160 0.908
2009; Liu et al., 2011) can be supposed to have contributed to mod- Comp-rural-f 0.017 0.327
erate the increases in soluble salt contents in ‘‘comp-rural-f’’ and
‘‘comp-residential-p’’ composters.
The modeled decreasing and increasing relationships, as related
to the parameters of the individual experimental composters listed
in Tables 4 and 5, were functional (with the exclusion of electrical
conductivity) to identify the temporal conditions at which the
respective reference limits of Table 1 can be met in home compost-
ing. Fig. 7 shows the identified temporal intervals of parametric
compliances with the considered limits, which are marked either
by lower (in case at zero) temporal bounds only (based on the pos-
sible combinations of parametric decrease and upper limit or para-
metric increase and lower limit) or by both lower (at zero) and
upper temporal bounds (with the further combination of paramet-
ric decrease and lower limit). A simple geometric evaluation of
Fig. 7 shows that the double vertical lines, delimiting the time at
12-13 months, simultaneously intercept the solid horizontal lines
and segments representing the various compliance conditions,
with the exception of moisture in only two composters. Thus, the
modeled parametric profiles in the experimental composters indi-
cate 12–13 months as a suitable duration for the home composting
process to simultaneously meet typical reference limits, such as
those assumed in Table 1, for parameters such as organic carbon,
C/N, nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus (although with the men- Fig. 7. Modeled parametric evolutions in the monitored experimental composters:
tioned modeling evaluation limited to three and two experimental resulting temporal conditions of parametric compliances with the respective
reference limits given in Table 1.
composters for the two last nutrients, respectively). The partial
compliance with the moisture upper limit, achieved at 12–
13 months in only two out of the four modeled composters, seems the home composting approach (as previously noted in
not particularly detrimental because the effects of moisture on the Section 3.1.2).
management of the final compost do not represent a major issue in
3.2. Controlled provincial composters

Table 4
Concerning the two sub-sets of provincial composters, con-
Monitored experimental composters: resulting rate constants (k) and coefficients of
determination (R2) for the first-order decrease modeling of moisture, organic carbon, trolled in the seventh and fifteenth months of home composting,
and C/N measures. the diagrams of the obtained box-and-whisker plots are graphi-
cally combined as parametric aggregations identical to those
Parameter Composter k (month1) R2
adopted in Figs. 3–6 and Table 3 for the monitored experimental
Moisture Comp-uni-u 0.033 0.877
composters. Thus, Fig. 8 first aggregates the resulting box-and-
Comp-house-u 0.029 0.963
Comp-residential-p 0.039 0.607 whisker plots for moisture (upper diagram), pH (central diagram),
Comp-rural-f 0.042 0.903 and electrical conductivity (lower diagram). Referring to moisture
Organic carbon Comp-uni-u 0.021 0.868 content in the upper diagram of Fig. 8, the boxes of quartiles for
Comp-house-u 0.028 0.945 both sub-sets of provincial composters remained above the upper
Comp-residential-p 0.040 0.880 limit given in Table 1. Differently, the central diagram of Fig. 8
Comp-rural-f 0.056 0.957 shows that all pH values in both sub-sets of provincial composters
C/N Comp-uni-u 0.106 0.825 respected the reference interval given in Table 1. Finally, the lower
Comp-house-u 0.116 0.850 diagram of Fig. 8 reveals that electrical conductivity had a higher
Comp-residential-p 0.098 0.860
Comp-rural-f 0.073 0.786
median value in the sub-set of provincial composters controlled
in the fifteenth month of home composting than the sub-set

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Fig. 8. Controlled provincial composters: resulting box-and-whisker plots for

moisture (upper), pH (central), and electrical conductivity (lower). Legend:
h = IQR box; — = median (inside the box); vertical segments = whiskers; s = pos- Fig. 9. Controlled provincial composters: resulting box-and-whisker plots for
sible outliers. For the adopted limits (horizontal lines) for moisture and pH, see organic carbon (upper), C/N (central), and total nitrogen (lower). For the legend,
Table 1. see Fig. 8. For the adopted limits (horizontal lines), see Table 1.

controlled in the seventh month, with a resulting relative differ- difference (determined as [(median7months  median15months)/
ence of 33% (determined as [(median15months  median7months)/ (median7months)]  100) limited to 2%. The upper limit given in
(median7months)]  100). Table 1 for C/N distinguished between the central tendencies
Fig. 9 then aggregates the resulting box-and-whisker plots for shown in Fig. 9 (central diagram) by the two provincial sub-sets
organic carbon (upper diagram), C/N (central diagram), and total of C/N measures as the corresponding median values remained
nitrogen (lower diagram). In the upper diagram of Fig. 9, aside from unsatisfactorily above and satisfactorily below the limit in the sev-
the minimum value (an outlier) in the sub-set controlled in the fif- enth and fifteenth months, respectively; in particular, the relative
teenth month, all measured organic carbon contents in both sub- difference between the median values was 16%. Concerning total
sets of provincial composters were in compliance with the lower nitrogen content, shown in the lower diagram of Fig. 9, the boxes
limit given in Table 1; in terms of central tendencies, the fifteenth of quartiles for both sub-sets of provincial composters remained
month sub-set of provincial composters had a median value just satisfactorily above the lower limit given in Table 1; in terms of
below that of the seventh month, with the resulting relative central tendencies, the sub-set in the fifteenth month presented

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 F. Tatàno et al. / Waste Management xxx (2015) xxx–xxx 11

a median value just above that in the seventh month, with the Further, in terms of data variability, parameters expected to
resulting relative difference limited to 4%. decrease during the composting process, such as organic carbon,
Referring to phosphorus and potassium contents, the respective C/N, and moisture, were similarly characterized, respectively, in
diagrams of Fig. 10 show that the boxes of quartiles for both nutri- Fig. 9 (upper and central) and Fig. 8 (upper) by lower variability
ents and sub-sets of controlled provincial composters were above (indicated by a lower box height) in the sub-set of provincial com-
the corresponding lower limits given in Table 1. posters controlled in the fifteenth month of home composting than
Concerning the humification conditions, the left diagram of that controlled in the seventh month. In contrast, parameters
Fig. 11 shows that the boxes of quartiles for humified organic car- expected to increase during the composting process, such as elec-
bon in both sub-sets of provincial composters remained above the trical conductivity, total nitrogen, and HR, were characterized by
lower limit given in Table 1. Further, in the right diagram of Fig. 11, higher variability in the sub-set of provincial composters in the fif-
HR exhibited a higher median value in the sub-set of provincial teenth month than that in the seventh month. This condition is
composters controlled in the fifteenth month than that controlled observed, in particular, for nitrogen and HR by comparing the
in the seventh month, with a resulting relative difference of 30%. box heights in Figs. 9 (lower) and 11 (right), respectively, whereas
Even examining distinct sub-sets of controlled composters, the for electrical conductivity, it appears in Fig. 8 (lower) as a slightly
evident decrease in the median for C/N with increasing time from greater range (i.e., the difference between the maximum and min-
seven to fifteen months of home composting, as well as the evident imum values, representing an alternative indicator of variability:
increase in the same statistical measure for electrical conductivity Anderson and Finn, 1996; Giudici, 2003) in the fifteenth month
and HR over the same increasing time, could be considered com- compared with the seventh month. The box-and-whisker plot
patible with the character of parameters with expected decreasing approach also provides visual information regarding the possible
or increasing evolutions, respectively, during the composting pro- data asymmetry based on either the proportion between the two
cess. Due to the limited relative differences between the sub-sets parts of the box (Anderson and Finn, 1996) or the comparison
of provincial composters (at seven and fifteen months), the com- between the distances maximum-median and median-minimum
parison of the central tendency measures for organic carbon and (Kuehl et al., 2001); thus, total nitrogen, HR, and electrical conduc-
nitrogen, in contrast, did not show similarly noticeable evidence tivity were also similarly characterized by positively skewed data
of agreement with the expected parametric decrease or increase, in both sub-sets of provincial composters. In particular, this condi-
respectively, during the composting process. tion is determined for total nitrogen (lower diagram in Fig. 9) and

Fig. 10. Controlled provincial composters: resulting box-and-whisker plots for phosphorus (as P2O5: left) and potassium (as K2O: right). For the legend, see Fig. 8. For the
adopted limits (horizontal lines), see Table 1.

Fig. 11. Controlled provincial composters: resulting box-and-whisker plots for humified organic carbon (HA + FA: left) and humification rate (HR: right). For the legend, see
Fig. 8. For the adopted limit (horizontal line) for HA + FA, see Table 1.

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Fig. 12. Controlled provincial composters (at seven months of home composting): resulting box-and-whisker plots for heavy metals. For the legend, see Fig. 8. For the
adopted limits (horizontal lines), see Table 1.

HR (right diagram in Fig. 11) from the greater distances between respective upper limits. Moreover, the increase in humification
the upper quartile and median than between the median and lower levels during the composting process should generally favor the
quartile (Giudici, 2003), whereas for electrical conductivity (lower capability of the compost to bind heavy metals and, thus, decrease
diagram in Fig. 8), the distances between the maximum and med- their availability (Kuhad et al., 2011). Finally, Salmonella was not
ian were more or less clearly greater than the respective distances detected in any compost sample from the sub-set of provincial
between the median and minimum (Kuehl et al., 2001). Reliably, composters in the seventh month. This condition indicates the san-
these visual indications were further reflected by the positive val- itary safety of the obtained compost materials (Bustamante et al.,
ues of the calculated asymmetry index (Giudici, 2003), which, 2012) and is primarily due to the natural decay of pathogens over
although indicative of different degrees of positive skewness the relatively long residence time of biowaste in home composters
(Wegner, 2007), were precisely equal to 0.177 and 0.504 for elec- (Colón et al., 2010).
trical conductivity, 0.862 and 0.512 for nitrogen, and 1.156 and Given the temporal discriminant for C/N only in Fig. 9 (central),
1.582 for HR in the seventh and fifteenth months of home com- the comparison between the two controlled sub-sets of provincial
posting, respectively. The reduced variability of the parametric composters specifically indicates 15 months as a duration of home
data with increased composting time, as revealed for moisture, composting at which the central tendency measures for pH,
organic carbon, and C/N when comparing the two sub-sets of con- organic carbon, nitrogen, humified organic carbon, phosphorous,
trolled provincial composters, could be considered compatible potassium, and the mentioned C/N are expected to all simulta-
with the nature of parameters expected to decrease over time, neously meet their respective limits (such as those in Table 1) typ-
for which a progressive compaction of parametric values can be ically assumable for compost. Indeed, moisture remains outside
supposed due to the bottom limitation on the indefinite decrease this simultaneous condition of adequacy with the parametric
given by the asymptotic character of the representative first-order requirements, which is in line with the partial compliance at the
kinetic models. Similarly, the increased variability of the paramet- suitable duration identified in the simulations in Fig. 7 on the mon-
ric data with increased home composting time, revealed by com- itored experimental composters.
paring the two provincial sub-sets of nitrogen, HR, and electrical
conductivity data, in combination with the positive skewness of 4. Conclusions
the data (thus presenting a longer tail of distribution toward the
higher parametric values), both could be considered compatible Although the registered temperature profiles (in ‘‘comp-
with the alternative nature of parameters expected to increase residential-p’’ and ‘‘comp-uni-u’’ composters) indicated that diver-
over time, which are therefore unbounded on top during their tem- sified regimes could occur even in identically shaped composting
poral evolution (von Hippel, 2011). units, the process monitoring of the four experimental composters
With regard to heavy metals, the box-and-whisker plots in showed overall decreasing profiles versus composting time for
Fig. 12 show that the resulting contents in the sub-set of compo- parameters such as moisture (with the exception of only the initial
sters controlled in the seventh month of home composting, dis- monitoring months in two composters), organic carbon, and C/N,
played as quartiles, whiskers, and outliers, were below the as well as overall increasing profiles for parameters such as electri-
respective upper limits of Table 1, with the exception of the upper cal conductivity and total nitrogen. These evolutions represented
whisker for cadmium because of two sampled composts with reliable qualitative indications of progress in the composting pro-
slightly higher contents than the considered limit. The higher cad- cess. Appropriate comparative evaluations of parametric measures
mium values could most likely be connected either with metallic and modeled kinetics in the monitored experimental composters
fragments discarded accidentally into the composters or with also indicated the plausibility of the following interactions in home
waste papers and cardboards entering the home composting pro- composting: (1) initially high C/N values were reasonably associ-
cess, considering in the latter case the possible presence of cad- ated with lower organic matter decomposition rates and lower
mium in printing inks or even in the printing and decoration on final humification levels (as revealed by comparing the pairs of
the outside of wrapping papers and cardboards used for food- ‘‘comp-uni-u’’-‘‘comp-house-u’’ and ‘‘comp-residential-p’’-‘‘comp-
related purposes (Zorzi and Pinamonti, 1998; Reilly, 2002; Smith rural-f’’); (2) higher moisture contents presumably contributed to
and Jasim, 2009). Although an increase of heavy metal concentra- restrain the internal temperature regime (as supposed from com-
tions may be expected over time due to the progressive decompo- paring ‘‘comp-residential-p’’ and ‘‘comp-uni-u’’); (3) nearly hori-
sition of organic matter (Smith and Jasim, 2009; Barrena et al., zontal or slightly increasing evolutions of extractable phosphorus
2014), the median contents shown in Fig. 12 at the seventh month and potassium contents were reasonably associated with lower
of home composting appeared within safe conditions because they slopes of increase in electrical conductivity (as revealed by com-
were reduced by a factor of between 2 and 9 compared with the paring the pairs of ‘‘comp-residential-p’’-‘‘comp-rural-f’’ and

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 F. Tatàno et al. / Waste Management xxx (2015) xxx–xxx 13

‘‘comp-uni-u’’-‘‘comp-house-u’’); and (4) a prolonged time of bio- Appendix A. Supplementary material

waste additions presumably contributed to a lower rate of
decrease in moisture (as supposed from comparing ‘‘comp- Supplementary data associated with this article can be found, in
house-u’’ with the other composters). the online version, at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2014.
The sub-sets of controlled provincial composters had a 12.011.
noticeable decrease in the central tendency measure (given by
the median) of C/N from seven to fifteen months of home compost-
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