mixed with bedding material, must be mixed with straw or similar raw materials. poultry manure must be blended with high-carbon, low-nitrogen materials. human excreta further information: reuse of excreta human excreta, sometimes called "humanure" in the composting context, can be added as an input to the composting process since it is a nutrient-rich organic material. nitrogen, which serves as a building block for important plant amino acids, is found in solid human waste. phosphorus, which helps plants convert sunlight into energy in the form of atp, can be found in liquid human waste. solid human waste can be collected directly in composting toilets, or indirectly in the form of sewage sludge after it has undergone treatment in a sewage treatment plant. both processes require capable design, as potential health risks need to be managed. in the case of home composting, a wide range of microorganisms, including bacteria, viruses, and parasitic worms, can be present in feces, and improper processing can pose significant health risks. in the case of large sewage treatment facilities that collect wastewater from a range of residential, commercial and industrial sources, there are additional considerations. the composted sewage sludge, referred to as biosolids, can be contaminated with a variety of metals and pharmaceutical compounds. insufficient processing of biosolids can also lead to problems when the material is applied to land. urine can be put on compost piles or directly used as fertilizer. adding urine to compost can increase temperatures, so can increase its ability to destroy pathogens and unwanted seeds. unlike feces, urine does not attract disease-spreading flies (such as houseflies or blowflies), and it does not contain the most hardy of pathogens, such as parasitic worm eggs. animal remains animal carcasses may be composted as a disposal option. such material is rich in nitrogen. human bodies this section is an excerpt from human composting. jurisdictions in the united states that have legalized human composting human composting is a process for the final disposition of human remains in which microbes convert a deceased body into compost. it is also called natural organic reduction (nor) or terramation. although the natural decomposition of human corpses into soil is a long-standing practice, a more rapid process that was developed in the early 21st century entails encasing human corpses in wood chips, straw, and alfafa until thermophile microbes decompose the body. in this manner, the transformation can be sped up to as little as 1–2 months. the accelerated process is based in part on techniques developed for the composting of livestock. though human composting was common before modern burial practices and in some religious traditions, contemporary society has tended to favor other disposition methods. however, cultural attention to concerns like sustainability and environmentally friendly burial has led to a resurgence in interest in direct composting of human bodies. some religious and cultural communities have been critical of this modern composting practice, even though it is in many ways a return to more traditional practices. human composting is legal in sweden and in multiple us states, and natural burials without a casket or with a biodegradable container are common practice in muslim and jewish traditions and are allowed in the uk, the us, and many other locations throughout the world. composting technologies backyard composter in-vessel composting this section is an excerpt from in-vessel composting. in-vessel composting generally describes a group of methods that confine the composting materials within a building, container, or vessel. in-vessel composting systems can consist of metal or plastic tanks or concrete bunkers in which air flow and temperature can be controlled, using the principles of a "bioreactor". generally the air circulation is metered in via buried tubes that allow fresh air to be injected under pressure, with the exhaust being extracted through a biofilter, with temperature and moisture conditions monitored using probes in the mass to allow maintenance of optimum aerobic decomposition conditions. this technique is generally used for municipal scale organic waste processing, including final treatment of sewage biosolids, to a stable state with safe pathogen levels, for reclamation as a soil amendment. in-vessel composting can also refer to aerated static pile composting with the addition of removable covers that enclose the piles, as with the system in extensive use by farmer groups in thailand, supported by the national science and technology development agency there. in recent years, smaller scale in-vessel composting has been advanced. these can even use common roll-off waste dumpsters as the vessel. the advantage of using roll-off waste dumpsters is their relatively low cost, wide availability, they are highly mobile, often do not need building permits and can be obtained by renting or buying. aerated static-pile composting this section is an excerpt from aerated static pile composting. channeled concrete floor of a composting pad for perforated piping that delivers oxygen to the composting mass aerated static pile (asp) composting refers to any of a number of systems used to biodegrade organic material without physical manipulation during primary composting. the blended admixture is usually placed on perforated piping, providing air circulation for controlled aeration. it may be in windrows, open or covered, or in closed containers. with regard to complexity and cost, aerated systems are most commonly used by larger, professionally managed composting facilities, although the technique may range from very small, simple systems to very large, capital intensive, industrial installations. aerated static piles offer process control for rapid biodegradation, and work well for facilities processing wet materials and large volumes of feedstocks. asp facilities can be under roof or outdoor windrow composting operations, or totally enclosed in-vessel composting, sometimes referred to tunnel composting. windrow composting this section is an excerpt from windrow composting. windrow turner used on maturing piles at a biosolids composting facility in canada. maturing windrows at an in-vessel composting facility. in agriculture, windrow composting is the production of compost by piling organic matter or biodegradable waste, such as animal manure and crop residues, in long rows (windrows). this method is suited to producing large volumes of compost. these rows are generally turned to improve porosity and oxygen content, mix in or remove moisture, and redistribute cooler and hotter portions of the pile. windrow composting is a commonly used farm scale composting method. composting process control parameters include the initial ratios of carbon and nitrogen rich materials, the amount of bulking agent added to assure air porosity, the pile size, moisture content, and turning frequency. the temperature of the windrows must be measured and logged constantly to determine the optimum time to turn them for quicker compost production. hügelkultur (raised garden beds or mounds) an almost completed hügelkultur bed; the bed does not have soil on it yet. the practice of making raised garden beds or mounds filled with rotting wood is also called hügelkultur in german. 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. buried wood acts like a sponge as it decomposes, able to capture water and store it for later use by crops planted on top of the bed. composting toilets this section is an excerpt from composting toilet. composting toilet at activism festival 2010 in the mountains outside jerusalem a composting toilet is a type of dry toilet that treats human waste by a biological process called composting. this process leads to the decomposition of organic matter and turns human waste into compost-like material. composting is carried out by microorganisms (mainly bacteria and fungi) under controlled aerobic conditions. most composting toilets use no water for flushing and are therefore called "dry toilets". in many composting toilet designs, a carbon additive such as sawdust, coconut coir, or peat moss is added after each use. this practice creates air pockets in the human waste to promote aerobic decomposition. this also improves the carbon-to-nitrogen ratio and reduces potential odor. most composting toilet systems rely on mesophilic composting. longer retention time in the composting chamber also facilitates pathogen die-off. the end product can also be moved to a secondary system – usually another composting step – to allow more time for mesophilic composting to further reduce pathogens. composting toilets, together with the secondary composting step, produce a humus-like end product that can be used to enrich soil if local regulations allow this. some composting toilets have urine diversion systems in the toilet bowl to collect the urine separately and control excess moisture. a vermifilter toilet is a composting toilet with flushing water where earthworms are used to promote decomposition to compost. related technologies vermicompost (also called worm castings, worm humus, worm manure, or worm faeces) is the end product of the breakdown of organic matter by earthworms. these castings have been shown to contain reduced levels of contaminants and a higher saturation of nutrients than the organic materials before vermicomposting. 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 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. 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 converted to biogas. uses agriculture and gardening compost used as fertilizer on open ground for growing wheat, corn, soybeans, and similar crops, compost can be broadcast across the top of the soil using spreader trucks or spreaders pulled behind a tractor. it is expected that the spread layer is very thin (approximately 6 mm (0.24 in)) and worked into the soil prior to planting. application rates of 25 mm (0.98 in) or more are not unusual when trying to rebuild poor soils or control erosion. due to the extremely high cost of compost per unit of nutrients in the united states, on-farm use is relatively rare since rates over 4 tons/acre may not be affordable. this results from an over-emphasis on "recycling organic matter" than on "sustainable nutrients." in countries such as germany, where compost distribution and spreading are partially subsidized in the original waste fees, compost is used more frequently on open ground on the premise of nutrient "sustainability". in plasticulture, strawberries, tomatoes, peppers, melons, and other fruits and vegetables are grown under plastic to control temperature, retain moisture and control weeds. compost may be banded (applied in strips along rows) and worked into the soil prior to bedding and planting, be applied at the same time the beds are constructed and plastic laid down, or used as a top dressing. many crops are not seeded directly in the field but are started in seed trays in a greenhouse. when the seedlings reach a certain stage of growth, they are transplanted in the field. compost may be part of the mix used to grow the seedlings, but is not normally used as the only planting substrate. the particular crop and the seeds' sensitivity to nutrients, salts, etc. dictates the ratio of the blend, and maturity is important to insure that oxygen deprivation will not occur or that no lingering phyto-toxins remain. compost can be added to soil, coir, or peat, as a tilth improver, supplying humus and nutrients. it provides a rich growing medium as absorbent material. this material contains moisture and soluble minerals, which provide support