Bioresource Technology 71 (2000) 253±259

E€ects of compost produced from town wastes and sewage sludge on

the physical properties of a loamy and a clay soil
S.M. Aggelides*, P.A. Londra
Agricultural University of Athens, Department of Natural Resources Management and Agricultural Engineering, 75 Iera Odos, Botanicos,
11855 Athens, Greece
Received 7 May 1998; received in revised form 20 April 1999; accepted 15 May 1999

Abstract
Organic fertilizer produced by composting 62% town wastes, 21% sewage sludge and 17% sawdust by volume, was applied at the
rates of 0 (control), 75, 150 and 300 m3 haÿ1 to loamy and clay soils, in order to investigate its potential for soil improvement. The
experiments were conducted in areas characterised by a semi-arid climate. The chemical properties of the soils were a€ected directly
by the amendment compost. The physical properties of the amended soils were improved in all cases as far as the saturated and
unsaturated hydraulic conductivity, water retention capacity, bulk density, total porosity, pore size distribution, soil resistance to
penetration, aggregation and aggregate stability, were concerned. In most of the cases the improvements were proportional to the
application rates of the compost and they were greater in the loamy soil than in the clay soil. Ó 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights
reserved.

Keywords: Sewage sludge; Town wastes; Compost; Soil physical properties; Soil rehabilitation

1. Introduction 1985), compactibility (Ohu et al., 1985; Ekwue, 1990;

The continuous decomposition of organic matter in
cultivated soils of arid and semiarid regions may lead to
soil degradation with a consequence of inability to en-
sure a sustainable production. The application of or-
ganic wastes, and particularly composted municipal
refuse and sewage sludge, could be a way of solving two
problems, the waste disposal and the correction of the
low organic matter content of many agricultural soils.
Using wastes in agriculture is an economical disposal of
these materials, and it is interesting from an ecological
point of view as it reduces negative e€ects on the envi-
ronment. However, it could lead to phytotoxic levels of
heavy metals in soils.
Among the publications related to waste application
on land only a small percentage deals with the im-
provement of soil physical properties. There are refer-
ences to improving soil water content (Epstein, 1975;
Epstein et al., 1976; Kelling et al., 1977), soil water re-
tention capacity (Gupta et al., 1977; Morel et al., 1978;
Kladivko and Nelson, 1979; Kumar et al., 1985), satu-
rated hydraulic conductivity (Epstein, 1975; Kumar et al.,
*
Corresponding author.
Stone and Ekwue, 1993), aggregation (Pagliai et al.,
1981), total porosity and pore size distribution (Walter,
1977; Kladivko and Nelson, 1979; Pagliai et al., 1981;
Mathan, 1994), soil crusting (Pagliai et al., 1983) and
penetration resistance of the soil (Kumar et al., 1985).
The (partial) reference by several authors to im-
proving only some of the physical properties at any one
time gave the reason for the present work to be con-
ducted. Therefore, in this work, an attempt was made to
investigate the potential soil improvement related to the
waste application and taking into consideration almost
all physical properties.
2. Methods
The compost used was produced from a mixture of
17% sawdust, 21% sewage sludge and 62% town wastes
by volume, following the Beltsville Aerated Pile Method
(Wilson et al., 1980). The cured compost was passed
through a 5 mm mesh screen before soil incorporation.
The contents of cadmium, zinc, copper, lead, nickel and
chromium were, respectively, 2.3, 1100, 450, 60.6, 104
and 798 ppm. These were below the safe levels for plant
growth. The germination of seeds (Lepidium sativum L.)

0960-8524/00/$ ± see front matter Ó 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
PII: S 0 9 6 0 - 8 5 2 4 ( 9 9 ) 0 0 0 7 4 - 7
254 S.M. Aggelides, P.A. Londra / Bioresource Technology 71 (2000) 253±259

test was done following the Zucconi et al. (1981) meth-
od. The germination index was determined as 51±96, 34±
58 and 20±37% for the concentrations of compost ex-
tract 2, 4 and 10%, respectively.
The experiments were conducted in two di€erent ar-
eas. The ®rst experimental ®eld was established on a
deep clay soil (Humic Fluvaquent) located in the area of
Aliartos in Biotia, characterised by a semiarid climate
with a mean annual rainfall of about 590 mm. The
second was established on a loamy soil (Typic Xeroch-
rept) located in the area of Kiourka in Attiki with a
mean annual rainfall of about 520 mm. Some properties
of the soils are reported in Tables 1 and 2.
The experimental design was a randomised, complete
block with four treatments and four replications. The
experimental plots of 18 m2 (3 ´ 6) were separated by
1 m wide zones. The compost was spread in October
1994 at the rate of 0 (control), 75, 150 and 300 m3 haÿ1
(0, 39, 78 and 156 thaÿ1 ) and it was incorporated
(rototilled) into the top 15 cm of the soil pro®le. The
®elds were rested under grass fallow, without irrigation,
and the previous year crops had been wheat for the
Biotia ®eld and barley for the Attiki ®eld. The grass was
cut in the end of the spring of 1995. Measurements and
sampling for this study were made in December 1995 at
the surface soil layer of 15 cm.
The particle size analysis of the soil samples was
carried out using the Bouyoucos (1962) hydrometer
method. Carbonates were measured by HCl dissolution
and measurement of the evolved CO2 . The pH was
measured in 1:1 soil and water ratio. The Walkley±Black
wet digestion method was used for the determination of
organic matter. The cation exchange capacity (CEC)
was determined by saturation with Na (Rhoades, 1982).
The soil samples for the above determinations were ta-
ken after mixing the four subsamples (replications) of
each treatment. The undisturbed soil samples were taken
from the middle of the surface layer.
Dry bulk density was determined using the core
method by weighing the undisturbed soil samples of a
volume of 226 cm3 (Blake and Hartge, 1986). The sat-
urated hydraulic conductivity (by the constant head
method, Klute and Dirksen, 1986) was measured in
undisturbed soil samples of a length of 8 cm and a di-
ameter of 6 cm. The unsaturated hydraulic conductivity
was calculated using the Jackson (1972) procedure. The
water retention curves were determined by modifying
the Haines Buchner funnel method (Haines, 1930). The
modi®cation consisted of a removable out¯ow±in¯ow
system instead of the hanging burette. The sinter disks
of the funnels were of grade 4 (pore 16) and the undis-
turbed soil samples were 3 cm high and 6 cm in diam-
eter. The soil penetration resistance at the surface was
determined in di€erent soil moistures by using a pocket
penetrometer (Bradford, 1986). The pore size distribu-
tion was obtained from the retention curves by plotting
their slopes as functions of the pressure potential
(Childs, 1969). The aggregate size distribution was de-
termined using a rotary sieve equipment and following
dry sieving analysis (Chepil, 1962). The stability of ag-
gregates was determined by using the concept of the
instability index b (Valmis et al., 1988).
The experimental data were subjected to analyses of
variance (ANOVA) tests and Duncan's multiple range
tests estimated statistical di€erences among treatment
means.
3. Results and discussion
Chemical properties of the soils were a€ected directly
by the compost amendment (Table 1). Organic matter,
pH and CEC were increased with the compost rates.
Physical properties should be a€ected indirectly through
the improvement of soil structure.
The e€ects of the treatments on the bulk density of
the two soils are shown in Table 2. Compost signi®-
cantly reduced the bulk density of the soils (P ˆ 0.05).
The highest reduction was 19.7% and 16.7% for the 300
m3 haÿ1 compost addition rate in the amended loamy

Table 1
a
Some properties of the soils treated and untreated with the compost
b
Soil mixtures Particle size (%) Organic matter (%) CaCO3 (%) pH CEC (meq/100 g)
Clay Silt Sand
Loamy + c0 25 40 35 1.1 0.3 6.8 14.4
Loamy + c75 2.5 1.2 7.1 20.1
Loamy + c150 3.2 2.7 7.2 22.6
Loamy + c300 6.2 3.0 7.2 24.5
Clay + c0 48 31 21 3.2 34.0 7.6 54.2
Clay + c75 4.4 32.2 7.7 55.8
Clay + c150 5.3 30.7 7.7 56.3
Clay + c300 8.2 30.6 7.8 58.2

Compost 31.2 17.5 7.3 61.7

a
The samples were taken in December 1995.
b
c0, c75, c150 and c300 represent compost addition rates of 0, 75, 150 and 300 m3 haÿ1 .
 S.M. Aggelides, P.A. Londra / Bioresource Technology 71 (2000) 253±259 255

Table 2
Some physical properties of the soils treated and untreated with the
compost a
b
Soil mixtures Hydraulic Bulk density Total porosity
conductivity (g cmÿ3 ) (cm3 cmÿ3 )
(m hÿ1 )
Loamy + c0 0.083 1.37 0.418
Loamy + c75 0.110 1.20 0.464
Loamy + c150 0.127 1.13 0.531
Loamy + c300 0.162 1.10 0.555
Clay + c0 0.038 1.12 0.585
Clay + c75 0.059 1.05 0.617
Clay + c150 0.075 0.98 0.635
Clay + c300 0.102 0.94 0.643
a
The samples were taken in December 1995.
b
c0, c75, c150 and c300 represent compost addition rates of 0, 75,
150 and 300 m3 haÿ1 .

and clay soils, respectively. Tester (1990) stated that in a

loamy sand soil amendment with sewage sludge compost
signi®cantly reduced the bulk density by 45% for the 240
Mghaÿ1 compost rate.
The total porosity was improved by the use of com-
post (Table 2) the increase over soil alone being 11.0,
27.0 and 32.8% in the loamy soil, and 5.4, 8.5, and 9.9%
(P ˆ 0.05), in the clay soil for the 75, 150 and 300 m3
haÿ1 compost rates. Mbagwu (1989) noted that organic
wastes incorporated into the soil at the rate of 10% in-
creased the total porosity by 23%.
The saturated hydraulic conductivities, Ks, of the
treated soils are also presented in Table 2. There was a
statistical-signi®cant treatment e€ect (P ˆ 0.05). Ks was
increased 32.5, 53.0 and 95.2% in the loamy soil and
55.3, 97.4 and 168.4% in the clay soil for the rates 75,
150 and 300 m3 haÿ1 of compost.
The unsaturated hydraulic conductivity, K, and re-
tention capacity of the soil water are the most important
hydraulic properties governing the transport of ¯uid and
solutes in soil. K was a€ected by the compost but in an
opposite way. K as a function of soil water content, h, is
presented in Figs. 1 and 2. K(h) was reduced in the soils
amended with high compost rates compared with those
with low, or no, compost. The reduction was smaller in
the clay soil than the loamy soil.
The soil resistance to penetration (SRP) in relation to
soil water is shown in Figs. 3 and 4. SRP as measured by
a penetrometer, accurately re¯ects the resistance en-
countered by roots (Phillips and Kirkham, 1962). The
relationship between SRP and soil water was a second-
order curve for each treatment. The correlation coe-
cients (R2 ) were 0.973, 0.889, 0.921 and 0.963 in the
loamy soil and 0.963, 0.99, 0.94 and 0.856 in the clay soil
for the compost rates of 0, 75, 150 and 300 m3 haÿ1 ,
respectively. Generally, SRP decreased as the soil water
was increased. As the compost rates were increased, the
slopes of the curves giving the relationship between the
SRP and soil water were decreased, e.g. the slopes at the
Fig. 1. Hydraulic conductivity (K) as a function of soil water under the
di€erent treatments of loamy soil. Curves c0, c75, c150 and c300 cor-
respond to the loamy soil amended with the compost at rates of 0, 75,
150 and 300 m3 haÿ1 .
water content of 0.2 cm3 cmÿ3 were 124.7, 113.5, 104.6
and 88.3 N cmÿ2 in the loamy soil for the compost rates
of 0, 75, 150, 300 m3 haÿ1 . At low water contents, in the
loamy soil (Fig. 3), the high compost rates gave smaller
SRP values than those with lower rates, up to some
values (22±25 N cmÿ2 ), after which soils with high
compost rates had greater SRP than those with lower
rates. Similar soil behaviour, after addition of organic
matter, has been reported by other researchers including
Ohu et al. (1985); Ekwue and Stone (1995), in soils
where SRP was measured after the soils had been
compacted in the laboratory using standard proctor
blows.
SRP in clay soil (Fig. 4) showed almost the same
behaviour. The slopes of the curves representing SRP
versus water contents for the clay soil treatments gave
lower values than the corresponding values of loamy soil
treatments. As in the case of loamy soil, at low water-
contents the high compost rates gave smaller SRP values
than those with lower rates up to some values (7±12 N
cmÿ2 ) after which compost a€ected SRP in an opposite
way. An observation that di€ered in clay and loamy soil
treatments was that in clay SRP increased as the soil
256 S.M. Aggelides, P.A. Londra / Bioresource Technology 71 (2000) 253±259
Fig. 2. Hydraulic conductivity (K) as a function of soil water under the
di€erent treatments of clay soil. Curves c0, c75, c150 and c300 cor-
respond to the loamy soil amended with the compost at rates of 0, 75,
150 and 300 m3 haÿ1 .
water increased, up to some peak value, after which the
value of SRP declined with further increase in water
content. This is a typical soil behaviour and the water
content at which this maximum SRP occurs is called
Fig. 3. Soil penetration resistance as related to the soil water. Curves
c0, c75, c150 and c300 correspond to the loamy soil amended with the
compost at rates of 0, 75, 150 and 300 m3 haÿ1 .
Fig. 4. Soil penetration resistance as related to the soil water. Curves
c0, c75, c150 and c300 correspond to the clay soil amended with the
compost at rates of 0, 75, 150 and 300 m3 haÿ1 .
``critical''. The latter has been observed in soils previ-
ously compacted in the laboratory (Ayers and Per-
umpral, 1982 Ekwue and Stone, 1995).
The experimentally determined soil water retention
curves under the di€erent treatments of the loamy and
clay soils are presented in Figs. 5 and 6. The curve of
each treatment represents the mean curve of four repli-
cates. The addition of compost increased the water re-
tention capacity of the soils in all treatments as any
particular soil water content corresponded to a higher
negative soil water tension. The retention capacity was
higher in the soils amended with high compost rates
than those in soils receiving low rates, except in the case
of the curve belonging to the loamy soil amended with
75 m3 haÿ1 compost (Fig. 5). This curve, for the water
contents between 0.365 and 0.305, overlapped the re-
tention curve of the control treatment and for a water
Fig. 5. Soil water retention curves under the di€erent treatments of
loamy soil. Curves c0, c75, c150 and c300 correspond to the loamy soil
amended with the compost at rates of 0, 75, 150 and 300 m3 haÿ1 .
 S.M. Aggelides, P.A. Londra / Bioresource Technology 71 (2000) 253±259
Fig. 6. Soil water retention curves under the di€erent treatments of
clay soil. Curves c0, c75, c150 and c300 correspond to the clay soil
amended with the compost at rates of 0, 75, 150 and 300 m3 haÿ1 .
content lower than 0.280 overlapped the retention curve
of the soil amended at the rate of 150 m3 haÿ1 . Perhaps,
this was due to experimental error. The standard error
of the data was 0.44±3.13. For the clay soil the di€er-
ences between the treatments were not statistically sig-
ni®cantly (P ˆ 0.05). The standard error of the data was
0.19±1.28.
Di€erentiating the retention curves of Figs. 5 and 6
can reveal pore size distribution (Childs, 1969; Agge-
lides, 1987) and results are presented in Figs. 7 and 8.
From these ®gures it can be seen that the addition of
compost increased the large pores, especially the pores
gathered around the water tension of ÿ5 kPa. The in-
crease of large pores was greater in soils amended with
large compost amounts, than in soils amended with low
compost amounts. Similar behaviour has been observed
(Khaleel et al., 1981) with water retention increasing in
Fig. 7. Di€erential curves of the retention curves in Fig. 5. Curves c0,
c75, c150 and c300 correspond to the loamy soil amended with the
compost at rates of 0, 75, 150 and 300 m3 haÿ1 .
257
Fig. 8. Di€erential curves of the retention curves in Fig. 6. Curves c0,
c75, c150 and c300 correspond to the clay soil amended with the
compost at rates of 0, 75, 150 and 300 m3 haÿ1 .
the low retention range following an addition of organic
wastes.
Aggregate size distributions and mean weight diam-
eters (MWD) of the amended soils are shown in Table 3.
The values in Table 3 represent the mean values of each
treatment.
MWD was calculated by using the equation (Kemper
and Rosenau, 1986)
Xn
MWD ˆ xi
wi ;
iˆ1
where xi is the mean diameter and wi is the weight of the
corresponding aggregate class. MWD for both soils
decreased signi®cantly with the compost addition rate
(P ˆ 0.05).
Aggregate stability was determined by using the
concept of the instability index b (Valmis et al., 1988)
which decreased as the stability of the soil increased. The
values of b were 0.46, 0.40, 0.37, 0.32 and 0.29, 0.27,
0.27, 0.24 in the loamy and clay soils, respectively, for
the compost addition of 0, 75, 150 and 300 m3 haÿ1 . The
decrease of b in both soils indicated the increase of the
soil stability.
4. Conclusions
The amendment compost improved all physical
properties under consideration in the two soils. The
improvement was proportional to the compost rate. The
results supported the following conclusions:
Bulk density and penetration resistance were reduced.
The reduction was greater in the loamy soil than in the
clay soil.
Total porosity and saturated hydraulic conductivity
were increased. The increase of total porosity was
greater in the loamy soil than in the clay soil, and sat-
258 S.M. Aggelides, P.A. Londra / Bioresource Technology 71 (2000) 253±259

Table 3
Aggregate size distribution and mean weight diameter of the treated soils
a a
Mean diameter Loamy Clay
(mm)
c0 c75 c150 c300 c0 c75 c150 c300
6.34 16.38 14.32 13.29 10.17 26.38 27.94 21.53 21.00
4.05 14.10 12.13 12.55 15.48 17.22 15.80 16.15 15.31
2.68 14.72 13.46 15.27 14.37 22.67 21.77 20.64 18.74
1.5 18.29 16.53 15.42 16.12 19.56 20.36 19.37 18.03
0.75 15.65 18.74 17.33 17.25 8.95 9.14 9.02 12.18
0.375 12.95 15.95 14.41 15.84 4.14 6.20 8.21 9.04
0.125 7.91 8.87 11.73 10.77 1.08 2.15 5.08 5.70
b
MWD 2.451 2.219 2.190 2.101 3.352 3.204 2.967 2.856
a
c0, c75, c150 and c300 represent compost addition rates of 0, 75, 150 and 300.
b
MWD is the mean weight diameter.

urated hydraulic conductivity was greater in the clay soil
than the loamy soil. The unsaturated hydraulic con-
ductivity was reduced, but it was accompanied by an
increase in water content. Retention ability of the two
soils was increased, as well as the corresponding soil
pores.
Mean weight diameter of the aggregates was reduced
in both soils, while aggregate stability was increased.
References
Aggelides, S., 1987. Pore size distribution of soils as determined from
soil characteristic curves using non-polar liquid. In: Monnier, G.,
Goss, M.J. (Eds.), Soil Compaction and Regeneration. EEC
Workshop Avignon, 17±18 September 1985, Balkema, Rotterdam,
pp. 59±68.
Ayers, P.D., Perumpral, J.V., 1982. Moisture and density e€ect on
cone index. Trans. ASSAE 21 (5), 1169±1172.
Blake, G.R., K.H. Hartge, 1986. Bulk density. In: Klute, A. (Ed.),
Methods of Soil Analysis, Part 1. Am. Soc. Agron., Monograph 9,
pp. 363±375.
Bouyoucos, G.J., 1962. Hydrometer method for making particle
analysis of soil. Agron. J. 54, 464±465.
Bradford, J.M., 1986. Penetrability. In: Klute, A. (Ed.), A Methods of
Soil Analysis. Part 1. Am. Soc. Agron., Monograph 9, pp. 463±478.
Chepil, W.S., 1962. A compact rotary sieve and the importance of dry
sieving in physical soil analysis. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. Proc. 26, 4±6.
Childs, E.C., 1969. An Introduction to the Physical Basis of Soil Water
Phenomena. Wiley, London, pp. 115±150.
Ekwue, E., 1990. E€ect of organic matter on splash detachment and
the processes involved. Earth Surface Processes 15 (2), 175±181.
Ekwue, E.I., Stone, R.J., 1995. Organic matter e€ect on the strength
properties of compacted agricultural soils. Trans. ASAE 38 (2),
357±365.
Epstein, E., 1975. E€ect of sewage sludge on some soil physical
properties. J. Environ. Quality 4, 139±142.
Epstein, E., Taylor, J.M., Chaney, R.L., 1976. E€ects of sewage sludge
and sludge compost applied to soil on some soil physical and
chemical properties. J. Environ. Quality 5, 422±426.
Gupta, S.C., Dowdy, R.H., Larson, W.E., 1977. Hydraulic and
thermal properties of a sandy soil as in¯uenced by incorporation of
sewage sludge. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 41, 601±605.
Haines, W.B., 1930. Studies in the physical properties of soil. J. Agric.
Sci. 20, 97±116.
Jackson, R.A., 1972. On the calculation of hydraulic conductivity. Soil
Sci. Soc. Am. Proc. 36, 380±383.
Kelling, K.A., Peterson, A.E., Walsh, L.M., 1977. E€ect of wastewater
sludge on soil moisture relationships and surface runo€. J. WPCF
49, 1698±1703.
Kemper, W.D., Rosenau, R.C., 1986. Aggregate stability and size
distribution. In: Klute, A. (Ed.), Methods of Soil Analysis, Part 1.
Am. Soc. Agron., Monograph 9, pp. 425±442.
Khaleel, R., Reddy, K.P., Overcash, M.R., 1981. Changes in soil
physical properties due to waste applications: a review. J. Environ.
Quality 10, 133±141.
Kladivko, E.J., Nelson, D.W., 1979. Changes in soil properties from
application of anaerobic sludge. J. WPCF 51, 325±332.
Klute, A., Dirksen, C., 1986. Hydraulic conductivity and di€usivity.
In: Klute, A. (Ed.), Methods of Soil Analysis, Part 1. Am. Soc.
Agron., Monograph 9, pp. 687±734.
Kumar, S., Mallik, R.S., Dahiya, I.S., 1985. In¯uence of di€erent
wastes upon water retention transmission and contact character-
istics of sandy soil. Aust. J. Soil Res. 23, 131±136.
Mathan, K.K., 1994. Studies on the in¯uence of long-term municipal
sewage-e‚uent irrigation on soil physical properties. Bioresource
Technol. 48, 275±276.
Mbagwu, J.S.C., 1989. E€ects of organic amendments on some
physical properties of tropical Utisol. Biol. Wastes 28, 1±13.
Morel, J.L., Guckert, A., Sedogo, M., 1978. E€ects de l' epandage des
boues residuaires urbaines sur l' etat physic du sol. 11th Congress
of International Society of Soil Sciences. Edmonton, Canada.
Ohu, J.O., Raghavan, G.S.V., Mckyes, E., 1985. Peatmoss e€ect on the
physical and hydraulic characteristics of compacted soils. Trans.
ASAE 28 (5), 420±424.
Pagliai, M., Guidi, G., La Marca, M., Giachetti, M., Lucamante, G.,
1981. E€ects of sewage sludges and composts on soil porosity and
aggregation. J. Environ. Qua. 10, 556±561.
Pagliai, M., Bisdom, E.B.A., Ledin, S., 1983. Changes in surface
structure (crusting) after application of sewage sludge and pig
slurry to cultivated agricultural soils in northern Italy. Geoderma
30, 35±53.
Phillips, R.E., Kirkham, D., 1962. Mechanical impedance and corn
seedling root growth. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. Proc. 26, 319±322.
Rhoades, J.D., 1982. Cation exchange capacity. In: Page, A.L., (Eds.),
Methods of Soil Analysis, Part 2. Am. Soc. Agron., Monograph 9,
pp. 149±159.
Stone, R.J., Ekwue, E.I., 1993. Maximum bulk density achieved during
soil compaction as a€ected by the incorporation of three organic
materials. Trans. ASAE 36 (6), 1713±1719.
Tester, C.F., 1990. Organic amendment e€ects on physical and
chemical properties of a sandy soil. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 54, 827±
831.
 S.M. Aggelides, P.A. Londra / Bioresource Technology 71 (2000) 253±259 259

Valmis, S., Kerkides, P., Aggelides, S., 1988. Soil aggregate instability
index and statistical determination of oscillation time in water. Soil
Sci. Soc. Am. J. 52, 1188±1191.
Walter, B., 1977. Untersuchungen uber die Wirkung von Mull-
klarschlammkompost auf Boden und Rebenertrag Landwirtsch.
Forsch. 30, 119±124.
Wilson, G.B., J.F., Parr, Epstein, E., March, P.B., Chaney, R.L.,
Colacicco, D., Burge, W.D., Sikora, L.J., Tester, C.F., Hornick,
S.B., 1980. Manual for composting sewage sludge by the Beltsville
aerated pile method. Joint USDA/EPA Spec. Rep. EPA-600/8-80-
022. US Government Printing Oce, Washington.
Zucconi, F., Pera, A., Forte, M., Bertoldi, M., 1981. Evaluating
toxicity of immature compost. Biocycle, March/April, pp. 54±
57.