Production of High-Quality Compost from Feather Waste: A Novel, Cost-Effective and Sustainable Approach for Feather Waste Management and Organic Soil Management

Chicken feathers, generated as waste by commercial poultry processing industry and local chicken slaughterhouses, are currently being processed and disposed by methods that require high energy input and cause pollution problems. Thus, efficient, sustainable and cost-effective management of feather waste is the need of the hour. The present study describes a cost-effective and sustainable approach for feather waste management using a novel composting method employing a consortium of three keratinolytic micro-organisms, viz. Stenotrophomonas maltophilia K279a, Bacillus cereus strain JF70 and Acinetobacter sp. PD 12 and three cellulolytic micro-organisms viz. Bacillus licheniformis, Bacillus subtilis and Cellulomonas sp. The compost obtained was analysed for its quality as per Indian Standards. Results of the analysis showed that the compost had a pH of 7.48, C:N ratio of 5.32:1, total organic carbon—35.07%, total nitrogen (N)—6.58%, total phosphates as P2O5—1.5% and total potash as K2O—1.189%. The feather compost had a C:N ratio of 5.32:1 indicating that it will act as a very good nitrogen fertilizer. All the heavy metals were found to be within the permissible limits. The above results indicate that the compost is a good source of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, containing a full spectrum of essential nutrients for plant growth. Such compost can be used for organic soil management to reduce dependence on chemical fertilizers as well as to reverse the cycle of soil deterioration. The process is scalable and can be used effectively for efficient feather waste management.