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Vermicomposting; a potential technology, facilitating sustainable textile waste management
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This review examines vermicomposting — the use of earthworms and microbes together — as an effective and low-cost method for breaking down textile waste, including its dyes, chemical residues, and synthetic microfibers. Given that textile waste is a growing source of microplastic fibers in the environment, earthworm-based composting offers a more ecologically sound alternative to landfilling or incineration.
Industrialization and rapid urbanization have led to massive waste development worldwide. Especially, textile waste is a global concern, due to its increased chemical components, dyes, fiber materials, and microplastics. Currently, landfills, incineration, hydrolysis, etc., are implemented to degrade these materials; however, the complete removal of toxicity and utmost degradation still needs to be met. Yet, those technologies remain cost-consuming and detrimental to the environment, causing ill effects toward the flora and fauna of the Earth. Thus, vermicomposting is found to be the most effective and renowned technology for the degradation of textile waste. Vermicomposting is an organic method that bioremediates proficiently, by the interactions between earthworms and microbes, and facilitates the textile degradation in an eco-friendly manner. This, review intensely discusses the potential of degrading textile waste through vermicomposting. It further, dwells into the amendments, particularly cow dung, their importance and efficacy with regard to their physiochemical and biological parameters. The current review provides a decision-making approach in treating different textile wastes, highlighting their pros and cons, and suggesting future recommendations.
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Researchers investigated how four ventilation methods affect microplastic distribution during perishable waste composting, finding that composting reduced extractable MPs in the solid product by 73–84%, with most MPs migrating to leachate and composting time being the strongest influencing factor. This matters because MP migration into leachate means contaminated liquid can carry plastics into soils and waterways if not properly managed during this widely used organic waste treatment process.
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Compost made from household trash often contains tiny plastic bits called microplastics, and surprisingly, the compost from industrial facilities had even more plastic contamination than the raw waste it started from. Since this compost gets spread on farm fields, these plastic fragments can build up in the soil where our food grows. The good news: simply sorting out plastic from food/organic waste before composting (rather than mixing everything together) dramatically cuts down on this contamination, suggesting better recycling habits at home and in waste facilities could help keep microplastics out of our agricultural system.
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