Soils are an endangered ecosystem globally and there is currently great interest in reducing erosion and improving the organic matter content of soils.
ISWA's Soils Project aims at ‘quantifying the benefit of organic matter in compost and digestate when applied to soils’ takes a lead in providing robust evidence base to link waste management and soil enhancement/improvement.
The project reports summarize current knowledge about the fate of recycled carbon in soils, in particular, its sequestration and effects on soils by talking about key areas of the world where threats to soils are severe and could benefit from organic matter inputs.
These reports will also provide a tool for waste planners/managers and farmers, summarising how composting and anaerobic digestion can be used in different country situations, and how quality assured products can be usefully applied to soils.
To download the reports, click on the links in the Reports section below.
Webinars
The launch of the reports has been accompanied by a set of corresponding webinars.
Global Assessment of Municipal Organic Waste
The first in the webinar series took place on the 6th May, 2020 and presented the first of the 4 reports investigating the benefits of compost and anaerobic digestate on soil. Discussions also focused on policy and the important link between waste management and soil/agriculture. The webinar extended the boundaries of typical waste management discussions by including agriculture and land management.
If you missed it, you can watch the recording below.
Benefits of Compost and Anaerobic Digestate
The second webinar of the series took place on June 10th 2020 and was presented by the Chair and Vice-Chair of ISWA's Working Group on Biological Treatment of Waste (WGBTW) respectively Marco Ricci-Jürgensen and Jane Gilbert.
If you missed it, you can watch the recording below.
SUMMARY OF THE STATE OF SOILS IN FIVE COUNTRIES
This is the 3rd webinar in ISWA's Soils Project Series, recorded on 15th July 2020 and gives a summary of the state of soils in Australia, Brazil, Chile, Italy and United Kingdom.
This recording presents the third of 4 reports of the ISWA-funded project investigating the benefits of compost and anaerobic digestate on soil.
If you missed it, you can watch the recording below.
Reports
Report_1_Global_Assessment_of_Municipal_Organic_Waste_Compressed_v2.pdf Global Assessment of Municipal Organic Waste |
Report_2_Benefits_of_Compost_and_Anaerobic_Digestate.pdf Benefits of Compost and Anaerobic Digestate |
Report_3_Summary_of_the_State_of_Soils_in_Five_Countries.pdf Summary of the State of Soils in Five Countries |
Report_4_Quantifying_the_Benefits_to_Soil_of_Applying_Quality_Compost.pdf Quantifying the Benefits to Soil of Applying Quality Compost |