Editing Compost (section)

== Composting technologies ==
[[File:ComposterRollingDesign.jpg|thumb|upright|Backyard composter]]

=== Industrial-scale composting ===
==== {{anchor|in-vessel composting}}In-vessel composting ====
{{excerpt|in-vessel composting|paragraphs=1–2}}

==== {{anchor|aerated static pile composting}}Aerated static-pile composting ====
{{excerpt|aerated static pile composting|paragraphs=1–2}}

==== {{anchor|windrow composting}}Windrow composting ====
{{excerpt|windrow composting|paragraphs=1–2}}

=== Other systems at household level ===
==== {{anchor|Hügelkultur}}Hügelkultur (raised garden beds or mounds) ====
[[File:End point (4315712587).jpg|thumb|upright|An almost completed {{lang|de|hügelkultur}} bed; the bed does not have soil on it yet.]]
{{Main|Hügelkultur}}
The practice of making raised garden beds or mounds filled with rotting wood is also called {{lang|de|[[Hügelkultur]]}} in German.<ref name="richsoil.com">{{cite web |url=http://www.richsoil.com/hugelkultur/ |title=hugelkultur: the ultimate raised garden beds |publisher=Richsoil.com |date=2007-07-27 |access-date=2013-07-18 |archive-date=7 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180107013815/https://richsoil.com/hugelkultur/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="permaculture.org.au">{{cite web |url=http://permaculture.org.au/2010/08/03/the-art-and-science-of-making-a-hugelkultur-bed-transforming-woody-debris-into-a-garden-resource/ |title=The Art and Science of Making a Hugelkultur Bed - Transforming Woody Debris into a Garden Resource Permaculture Research Institute - Permaculture Forums, Courses, Information & News |date=2010-08-03 |access-date=2013-07-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151105061510/http://permaculture.org.au/2010/08/03/the-art-and-science-of-making-a-hugelkultur-bed-transforming-woody-debris-into-a-garden-resource/ |archive-date=5 November 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref> It is in effect creating a [[nurse log]] that is covered with soil.

Benefits of ''Hügelkultur'' garden beds include water retention and warming of soil.<ref name="richsoil.com" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://permaculture.org.au/2012/01/04/hugelkultur-composting-whole-trees-with-ease/#more-6825 |title=Hugelkultur: Composting Whole Trees With Ease Permaculture Research Institute - Permaculture Forums, Courses, Information & News |date=2012-01-04 |access-date=2013-07-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928110713/http://permaculture.org.au/2012/01/04/hugelkultur-composting-whole-trees-with-ease/#more-6825 |archive-date=28 September 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Buried wood acts like a [[sponge (material)|sponge]] as it decomposes, able to capture water and store it for later use by crops planted on top of the bed.<ref name="richsoil.com" /><ref>Hemenway, Toby (2009). Gaia's Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture. Chelsea Green Publishing. pp. 84–85. {{ISBN|978-1-60358-029-8}}.</ref>

==== Composting toilets ====
{{excerpt|Composting toilet|paragraphs=1-3}}

=== Related technologies ===
* [[Vermicompost]] (also called [[worm cast]]ings, worm humus, worm manure, or worm faeces) is the end product of the breakdown of [[organic matter]] by earthworms.<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite web |url=http://southwoodsforestgardens.blogspot.com/2009/01/paper-on-invasive-european-worms.html |title=Paper on Invasive European Worms |date=21 January 2009 |access-date=2009-02-22 |archive-date=9 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191009124334/https://southwoodsforestgardens.blogspot.com/2009/01/paper-on-invasive-european-worms.html |url-status=live }}</ref> These castings have been shown to contain reduced levels of contaminants and a higher saturation of nutrients than the organic materials before vermicomposting.<ref name="Effects of stocking density and feeding rate on vermicomposting of biosolids">{{cite journal | author1 = Ndegwa, P.M. | author2 = Thompson, S.A. | author3 = Das, K.C. | title = Effects of stocking density and feeding rate on vermicomposting of biosolids | journal = Bioresource Technology | volume = 71 | pages = 5–12 | year = 1998 | doi = 10.1016/S0960-8524(99)00055-3 | url = http://www.earthworm.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/effect-of-stocking-density-feeding-rate-on-vermicomposting-of-biosolids.pdf | access-date = 15 February 2021 | archive-date = 8 August 2017 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170808071348/http://www.earthworm.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/effect-of-stocking-density-feeding-rate-on-vermicomposting-of-biosolids.pdf | url-status = live }}</ref>
* [[Hermetia illucens|Black soldier fly (''Hermetia illucens'')]] larvae are able to rapidly consume large amounts of organic material and can be used to treat human waste. The resulting compost still contains nutrients and can be used for [[biogas]] production, or further traditional composting or vermicomposting<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Lalander|first1=Cecilia|last2=Nordberg|first2=Åke|last3=Vinnerås|first3=Björn|title=A comparison in product-value potential in four treatment strategies for food waste and faeces – assessing composting, fly larvae composting and anaerobic digestion|journal=GCB Bioenergy|volume=10|issue=2|language=en|pages=84–91|doi=10.1111/gcbb.12470|issn=1757-1707|year=2018|doi-access=free|bibcode=2018GCBBi..10...84L }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Banks|first1=Ian J.|last2=Gibson|first2=Walter T.|last3=Cameron|first3=Mary M.|author-link3=Mary Cameron (entomologist)|date=2014-01-01|title=Growth rates of black soldier fly larvae fed on fresh human faeces and their implication for improving sanitation|journal=Tropical Medicine & International Health|language=en|volume=19|issue=1|pages=14–22|doi=10.1111/tmi.12228|pmid=24261901|s2cid=899081|issn=1365-3156|doi-access=free}}</ref>
* [[Bokashi (horticulture)|Bokashi]] is a fermentation process rather than a decomposition process, and so retains the feedstock's energy, nutrient and carbon contents. There must be sufficient carbohydrate for fermentation to complete and therefore the process is typically applied to food waste, including noncompostable items. Carbohydrate is transformed into lactic acid, which dissociates naturally to form lactate, a biological energy carrier. The preserved result is therefore readily consumed by soil microbes and from there by the entire soil food web, leading to a significant increase in soil organic carbon and turbation. The process completes in weeks and returns soil acidity to normal.
* Co-composting is a technique that processes organic solid waste together with other input materials such as dewatered [[fecal sludge]] or [[sewage sludge]].<ref name="tilley2" />
* [[Anaerobic digestion]] combined with mechanical sorting of mixed waste streams is increasingly being used in developed countries due to regulations controlling the amount of organic matter allowed in landfills. Treating [[biodegradable waste]] before it enters a landfill reduces [[global warming]] from fugitive [[methane]]; untreated waste breaks down anaerobically in a landfill, producing [[landfill gas]] that contains methane, a potent [[greenhouse gas]]. The methane produced in an anaerobic digester can be used as [[biogas]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2019/11/21/food-waste-fuel-energy-sustainability-070265|title=How Cities Are Turning Food into Fuel|last=Dawson|first=Lj|website=POLITICO|date=21 November 2019 |language=en|access-date=2020-02-28|archive-date=28 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200228203453/https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2019/11/21/food-waste-fuel-energy-sustainability-070265|url-status=live}}</ref>