The Role of Compost in Bio-waste
Management and Circular Economy
Francesco Razza, Lorenzo D’Avino, Giovanni L’Abate
and Luca Lazzeri
Abstract The increase of separate collections of bio-waste, largely represented by
food waste, and their biological treatment is an essential feature of the waste
management strategy. The aim of this paper was to highlight the role of compost in
the circular economy, and its use in the agricultural sector. An annual time-step
model for estimating soil organic matter (SOM) stock dynamics in a 22-year time
frame was developed and tested on cardoon cropping system. The model took into
account few soil parameters, mean annual temperature, and the cultural systems
management, in particular organic fertilizers and crop residues. This work indicates
that compost use in agriculture would be beneficial both for SOM increase and
GHG reduction. The results showed how high-quality compost could represents the
actual driving force of this change able to connect food, waste, economy and
environment.
1 Introduction
In the EU between 118 and 138 million tonnes of bio-waste are produced every year,
of which about 88 million tonnes come from municipal waste [1] which corresponds at
about 170 kg of bio-waste per capita per year and about 150 kg per capita per year of
realistic potentials [2]. Of the overall bio-waste amount, only 25% (i.e. 30 million
tonnes per year) is recycled into digestate or high-quality compost [3]. The latter must
F. Razza (&)
Novamont S.p.A, 05100 Terni, Italy
e-mail: francesco.razza@novamont.com
L. D’Avino Á G. L’Abate
Consiglio per la ricerca in agricoltura e l’analisi dell’economia agraria,
Centro di ricerca Agricoltura e Ambiente (CREA-AA), 50125 Florence, Italy
L. Lazzeri
Consiglio per la ricerca in agricoltura e l’analisi dell’economia agraria,
Centro di ricerca Cerealicoltura e Colture Industriali (CREA-CI), 40128 Bologna, Italy
© The Author(s) 2018
E. Benetto et al. (eds.), Designing Sustainable Technologies,
Products and Policies, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-66981-6_16
133
Management and Circular Economy
Francesco Razza, Lorenzo D’Avino, Giovanni L’Abate
and Luca Lazzeri
Abstract The increase of separate collections of bio-waste, largely represented by
food waste, and their biological treatment is an essential feature of the waste
management strategy. The aim of this paper was to highlight the role of compost in
the circular economy, and its use in the agricultural sector. An annual time-step
model for estimating soil organic matter (SOM) stock dynamics in a 22-year time
frame was developed and tested on cardoon cropping system. The model took into
account few soil parameters, mean annual temperature, and the cultural systems
management, in particular organic fertilizers and crop residues. This work indicates
that compost use in agriculture would be beneficial both for SOM increase and
GHG reduction. The results showed how high-quality compost could represents the
actual driving force of this change able to connect food, waste, economy and
environment.
1 Introduction
In the EU between 118 and 138 million tonnes of bio-waste are produced every year,
of which about 88 million tonnes come from municipal waste [1] which corresponds at
about 170 kg of bio-waste per capita per year and about 150 kg per capita per year of
realistic potentials [2]. Of the overall bio-waste amount, only 25% (i.e. 30 million
tonnes per year) is recycled into digestate or high-quality compost [3]. The latter must
F. Razza (&)
Novamont S.p.A, 05100 Terni, Italy
e-mail: francesco.razza@novamont.com
L. D’Avino Á G. L’Abate
Consiglio per la ricerca in agricoltura e l’analisi dell’economia agraria,
Centro di ricerca Agricoltura e Ambiente (CREA-AA), 50125 Florence, Italy
L. Lazzeri
Consiglio per la ricerca in agricoltura e l’analisi dell’economia agraria,
Centro di ricerca Cerealicoltura e Colture Industriali (CREA-CI), 40128 Bologna, Italy
© The Author(s) 2018
E. Benetto et al. (eds.), Designing Sustainable Technologies,
Products and Policies, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-66981-6_16
133