Agronomic Use of Urban Composts from Decentralized Composting Scenarios: Implications for a Horticultural Crop and Soil Properties

Abstract

Circular economy in the context of municipal organic waste management has boosted the emergence of novel composting scenarios, such as community composting and decentralized urban composting in small installations, which favors localized management and valorization of organic waste streams. However, there is little information about the agronomic use of the composts obtained from these new organic waste management systems as an alternative for inorganic fertilization in crop production. In this work, municipal solid waste-derived composts from two decentralized composting scenarios (CM1 and CM2 from community composting, and CM3 and CM4 from decentralized urban small-scale composting plants) were applied and mixed in the top layer of a calcareous clayey-loam soil to assess their effects as alternative substitutes for conventional soil inorganic fertilization (IN) during two successive cultivation cycles of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) grown in pots with the amended soils. These treatments were also compared with an organic waste (goat–rabbit manure, E) and a control treatment without fertilization (B). The effects of the fertilizing treatments on the crop yield and quality, as well as on the properties of the soil considered were studied. In general, the application of the different composts did not produce negative effects on lettuce yield and quality. The compost-derived fertilization showed similar lettuce yields compared to the inorganic and manure-derived fertilizations (IN and E, respectively), and higher yields than the soil without amendment (B), with increases in the initial yield values of B, for the first cycle from 34.2% for CM1 to 53.8% for CM3, and from 20.3% for CM3 to 92.4% for CM1 in the second cycle. Furthermore, the organically amended soils showed a better crop development, obtaining higher values than the control treatment in the parameters studied. In addition, the incorporation of the organic treatments improved the soil characteristics, leading to 1.3 and 1.2 times higher organic matter contents in the soils with CM2 and in the soils with CM1, CM3, and E, respectively, compared to the control soil without fertilizing treatment (B), and 2.0 and 1.8 times greater organic matter contents, respectively, compared to soil with inorganic fertilization (IN). Therefore, the use of municipal solid waste-derived composts from these new organic waste management systems, such as the decentralized composting scenarios studied (community composting and urban decentralized small-scale composting plants), is presented, not only as a sustainable valorization method, but also as an alternative for the use of inorganic fertilizers in lettuce cultivation, while enhancing soil properties, contributing to increasing the circularity of agriculture.