COMPOST DISCUSSION OF THE MONTH

As USCC members at the Basic level and above you are able to participate in the compost facility discussion group. Matt Ball from NC State University asks about how all the disinfectant on the paper towels in University waste streams could affect eventual compost quality. Chris Tempelton from Re-soil compost and USCC AD Cary Oshins talk about disinfectant & Covid 19 in compost. Login or Join the USCC to access this growing community of composters.

Matt Ball: We regularly accept and compost paper towels from the university. However now that students are returning and a good deal of disinfectant is being applied all over campus, I'm wondering how much of that disinfectant we're going to be introducing through our paper towel collections. Does anyone have an idea how detrimental to the composting process those paper towels would be? I'm not sure if the disinfecting product becomes inert once it's dry, or if it would still continue to kill bacteria...

Christopher Templeton: I personally don't have too much knowledge on this topic but have been wondering the same thing about similar products received in our deliveries in the past as well. I would think that I would want to find out what disinfectant was being used so that I could try and determine what active (or inactive) ingredients were used in the formulation of the product to try and determine what effects it would have and if it would even affect the finished product or microbe community in the process. Even if it was dry wouldn't one think that if the paper towel was exposed to moisture again it would have some of the product moistened again? I am not sure. EXCELLENT question though! But I personally would start with finding out what disinfectant is used and what ingredients are used in that product. I wouldn't want a sodium hypochlorite (bleach type product) in my compost. Does anybody have any research on this or any articles/links they could share? Thanks!

Cary Oshins: I don't think there is much to worry about. Disinfectants volatize rapidly even at room temp, much faster at compost temps. They are also high reactive (that's how they work) which means they degrade rapidly. Certainly in the robust microbial environment of a compost pile they will be gone quickly. Plus there is the dilution effect.Germs like coronavirus are wimps compared to the vast array of microbes in our piles!I found these wikipedia articles interesting:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bleach#Environmental_impact

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disinfectant