Cocomposting with and without Eisenia fetida for conversion of toxic paper mill sludge to a soil conditioner

Present study was envisaged for fast bioremediation of toxic paper mill sludge into a soil ameliorating agent. Although a rich source of organic carbon this sludge cannot be directly applied in fields and is recycled very slowly in landfills as it is deficient in other nutrients. Therefore it was mixed with cattle dung in various proportions and subjected to aerobic cocomposting (without worms) and vermicocomposting (with Eisenia fetida). It was observed that mixing cattle dung with the sludge improved physico-chemical characteristics (with transition metals in the permissible range for manures) of the products of both the processes and enhanced its acceptability for worms. Higher decline in organic carbon and higher content of nitrogen and phosphorous along with lower electrical conductivity and higher pH of the products of vermicomposting indicated that E. fetida helped in fast conversion of toxic paper mill sludge into a soil conditioner in 100 days. (c) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.