Valorization of Natural Textile Waste Through Composting: Current Trends in Biodegradation Techniques, Chemistry, and Quality Evaluation

Textile composting is receiving increased attention as a sustainable solution to deal with textile waste that is landfilled. In this comprehensive review, three major areas of textile composting are discussed: stages of composting, chemistry of biodegradation, and scientific approaches in evaluating the quality of compost. The review paper is based on a comprehensive analysis of the extant literature mainly published in the last decade. We found that among the various methods, the preferred method for textile degradation is vermicomposting, as it is highly effective in breaking down natural textiles. Among the aerobic and anaerobic methods, aerobic composting enables a faster breakdown of fibers through microbial action, yielding a high-quality compost with minimal odor compared with anaerobic composting. Textile composting involves three stages: bioaugmentation, biodeterioration, and assimilation, which are influenced by external factors such as sunlight, temperature, humidity, precipitation, and airflow. A good quality compost exhibits a high seed germination rate (germination index of 80% or higher) in addition to its color (gray or black), texture (crumbly), moisture content (moist, not wet), and smell (earthy), which can be evaluated by testing electrical conductivity, nutrient concentration, pH, humidity level, organic matter content, and carbon‑to-nitrogen (C:N) ratio of the compost.