Tracking AMR During Composting

As composting integrates increasingly diverse organic waste streams, monitoring antimicrobial labresistant bacteria from agricultural and food waste can persist through composting, potentially promoting the spread of AMR in soil ecosystems. The potential presence of thermally resilient genes in compost raises concerns about the effectiveness of thermal sanitation and the unintentional dissemination of resistance genes.

Thermophilic condition and microbially rich environment of composting offer a unique setting to assess the fate of thermally resistant AMR genes and mobile genetic elements (MGEs). Tracking these elements throughout the composting process is essential to evaluate treatment efficacy and inform biosafety protocols.

This project aims to improve scientific understanding of the mechanisms and conditions that enable composting survival, to inform the development of field-deployable diagnostic tools capable of detecting thermally resistant genes in real time. This knowledge will in turn assist the industry to develop effective monitoring controls and optimise operational parameters for AMR mitigation, potentially contributing to safer composting practices in a circular economy framework.

University of Technology Sydney (UTS)

Hartley Vale Good Garlic Co.

Twelve months