Isolation and selection of cellulose-degrading microorganisms for utilization along with earthworms in efficient conversion of municipality waste mix to compost

Abstract

Municipality biowaste (MBW) was decomposed alone or in mixture with rice straw (RS) and cow dung (CD) using cultures of Streptomyces xanthochomogens (CDM9) and Eisenia fetida. Cellulose degrading microorganisms (CDMs) were isolated from six source materials which contained CDM population in the range 5.4-8.5 log cfu/gdb and their cellulolytic activity ranged from 0.0 to 0.431 IU/min. CDM9 showed consistently high cellulase activity in cellulose and MBW substrate, and its co-inoculation with earthworm enhanced decomposition of the MBW mix. A positive correlation between pH of the composting feed mix and N loss suggested N loss in form of NH3. Overall, mixing of municipality biowaste with rice straw and cow dung and inoculation with the two decomposer agents resulted in better quality compost in all respects.