Potential of Mineral Fraction in Compost-Like-Output, Methods of Its Obtaining and the Possibility of Using It in the Context of Circular Economy

Abstract

Most of the systems for the mechanical and biological treatment of waste used in Poland send the 0–80 mm fraction separated from the municipal waste stream, after biostabilization, entirely to a landfill. Such action is not in line with the adopted EU strategy focused on waste management in the circular cycle. The purpose of this work was to assess the technical feasibility of recovering the mineral fractions contained in compost-like-output (CLO) on the proprietary technological line designed for glass recovery. The research was launched in January 2019, and lasted for a subsequent 12 months. In the article, the amounts of mineral fractions possible to be separated from CLO are presented, as well as their morphological composition and selected properties being determined. The processing of CLO on the line allowed to recover on average 69.4 ± 7.0% of the glass. This product was accepted by glass recycling plants. Mineral fractions constituting waste from the glass separation process were tested for their use in winter road maintenance. Tests were also carried out confirming the possibility of using selected mineral fractions (0–10 mm) from CLO to obtain a waste cement mix useful for constructing road foundations using a standard amount of cement.