Dynamics of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes in four types of kitchen waste composting processes

• Published in: Journal of hazardous materials Vol. 424; no. Pt C; p. 127526
• Main Authors: Zhao, Changxun, Xin, Liqing, Xu, Xingkun, Qin, Yong, Wu, Weixiang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 15.02.2022
• Subjects: Anti-Bacterial Agents - pharmacology; Antibiotic; Antibiotic resistance gene; Composting; Drug Resistance, Microbial - genetics; Genes, Bacterial; Kitchen waste; Manure; Risk analysis; Kitchen waste; Composting; Antibiotic; Risk analysis; Antibiotic resistance gene
• ISSN: 0304-3894; 1873-3336
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.127526

Kitchen waste might be a potential source of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes. Composting is recognized as an effective way for kitchen waste disposal. However, the effects of different kitchen waste composting types on the removal of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes haven’t been systematically studied. In this study, the dynamics of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes from kitchen waste of four composting processes were compared. Results showed that although kitchen waste was composted, it remained an underestimated source of antibiotics (25.9–207.3 μg/kg dry weight) and antibiotic resistance genes (1012–1017 copies/kg dry weight). Dynamic composting processes (i.e., dynamic pile composting and mechanical composting) decreased the antibiotic removal efficiency and increased the abundance of some antibiotic resistance genes (5.35–8534.7% enrichment). Partial least-squares path model analysis showed that mobile genetic elements played a dominant role in driving antibiotic resistance genes dynamics. Furthermore, redundancy analysis revealed that temperature, pH, and water content considerably affected the removal of antibiotics and mobile genetic elements. This study provides further insights into exploring the effective strategies in minimizing the risk of antibiotic resistance from kitchen waste via composting process. [Display omitted] •Dynamics of antibiotics and ARGs in four typical KW composting were illustrated.•SAC could effectively remove 57.6% of the antibiotics and 99.9% of the total ARGs.•Pile composting might increase the ARGs abundance due to the enrichment of MGEs.•TEMP, pH, and WC considerably affected the removal of antibiotics and ARGs.