Investigation of Enzyme Activities during Composting of Soiled Cotton Waste: Recent Developments

Abstract

Huge amount of soiled cotton waste is being produced by utilization of sanitary napkins by the women who have attained puberty. An attempt has been made to manage these wastes through composting and vermicomposting. Enzyme activities were studied during the composting and vermicomposting of soiled sanitary napkins. The highest protease (354.356 g/g/hr), urease (0.104 g/g/hr), amylase (119.08 g/g/hr) and cellulase (170.13 g/g/hr) activity was observed in vermicomposting sets. There was significant increase (p<0.001) in the enzyme activity in the vermicomposting and composting sets as compared to control.