Collegial effect of maggots larvae and garbage enzyme in rapid composting of food waste with wheat straw or biomass waste

The high moisture content, low carbon/nitrogen ratio and higher oil & fat contents in the post-consumer food waste make it unfavourable for its application to the composting process. The present study is an attempt to develop favourable conditions for rapid composting of post-consumer food wastes through a novel combination of garbage enzyme and maggots' larvae (0.04 g of maggots per gram of waste) in different combination of food waste with wheat straw and biomass waste, respectively. The in-vessel composting experiments were conducted in three polystyrene vessels out of which the Vessel 1 contained only food waste, Vessels 2 and 3 contained food waste with wheat straw and biomass wastes in the ratio 3:2, respectively. Indigenously prepared garbage enzyme and the isolated maggots' larvae were introduced in the same amount in all the vessels to observe its effect on the composting process. The co-composting of these combinations was carried out and its comparative analysis was also performed. The maximum organic matter degradation of 77.72 +/- 0.11% was found in Vessel 2 with a 'k' value of 0.15 d(-1), while, the organic matter degradation of 76.98 +/- 0.01% and 76.21 +/- 0.07% with a 'k' value of 0.12 d(-1) and 0.1 d(-1) was observed in Vessels 1 and 3, respectively. A significant reduction in heavy metals along with high bioaccumulation factors was detected in maggots' larvae. It is comprehended that applying the requisite combination of maggots' larvae and garbage enzyme can prove to be a feasible solution for rapid and efficient composting of post-consumer food wastes with a different combination of agricultural and biomass wastes. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.