About this Research Topic

Background

Municipal and agricultural solid waste constitutes a significant portion of total waste, with approximately 60-70% being biodegradable, a proportion that continues to rise systematically. The group of biodegradable waste is very diverse and classified as agricultural waste, food-processing waste, forestry waste, green waste from the maintenance of urban green areas, kitchen waste, and sewage sludge. Biodegradable waste (BW) encompasses various plant and animal-derived materials rich in organic matter and essential nutrients (macro and micronutrients), offering potential applications in agriculture and horticulture. However, potentially toxic elements, phytotoxic substances, pharmaceutical residues, microplastics, or pathogenic organisms present in such waste pose environmental threats. Additionally, its high susceptibility to decomposition leads to forming environmentally harmful compounds. Consequently, many European Union countries have banned the landfilling of BW and advocate for its effective recycling. The predominant methods for processing waste biomass involve biological or thermal approaches.

Currently, numerous European Union member states, North American states, and Australia prohibit the deposition of BW in landfills, emphasizing the necessity for efficient recycling practices. Although in general view the technologies used for the treatment of BW are well known, there are many problems to increase efficiency and speed of the process as well as to develop new approaches to produce products with high added values. Particularly the high diversity requires a more specialized approach to BW management, which should be implemented in line with circular bioeconomy and sustainability. The rational management of extremely valuable and nutrient-rich biomass also refers to the idea of biomass-to-matter.

This Research Topic aims to explore reclamation solutions and infrastructure that transform BW into sustainable resources and their use in different areas. We invite researchers to present their latest insights on this topic to advance our understanding of the BW decomposition, and solutions that contribute to decreased toxicity and describe new revaluation processes. Research Topic welcomes research on the agronomical and environmental aspects of utilizing BW or their derivates in agricultural, ecological, and industrial applications. Topics should be addressed (but are not limited to) the following issues:

Use:
• advancement of composting techniques including composts/vermicomposts quality and their usability
• microbiological aspects of digestion and composting processes
• application of waste biomass in environmental remediation

Impacts:
• Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of different biomass conversion system
• diversified approach/valorization to organic products
• assessment of the impact of compost/vermicompost/digestate/biochar on soils and plants

Processes:
• measurement of gas emissions during biowaste stabilization procedures and after their application to the soil
• pyrolysis process and its end-product – biochar as an alternative method of biomass utilization

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Community Case Study
• Curriculum, Instruction, and Pedagogy
• Data Report
• Editorial
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Community Case Study
• Curriculum, Instruction, and Pedagogy
• Data Report
• Editorial
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Policy and Practice Reviews
• Policy Brief
• Review
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: resource recovery, recycling, organic amendment, sustainable agriculture, soil use, nutrient recovery, waste stabilization, biodegradation, biotransformation, phytotoxicity, environmental threat

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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