Modern industrial growth and urbanization with population explosion leads to disposal of huge amount of municipal solid waste (MSW) in the environment. The conventional ways of waste management based on physicochemical treatment further aggravate the situation of soil contamination. To combat the situation of soil pollution, composting of municipal solid waste is a viable and eco-friendly approach in minimizing the environmental risk of contamination. Further, it also enhances the physical, nutritional and biological properties of soil in sustainable manner. However, huge volumes of MSW compost may poses a potential risk of trace elements or heavy metal loading in the soil. Heavy metal content in MSW compost is one of the potential soil pollutants which may easily transfer from soil to food plants through root absorption, and accumulate in plant tissues causing various phytotoxic effects. In this context, strategies based on biological approaches such as bioremediation or phyto-remediation serves as important management option to combat to heavy metal stress in the soil. However, the positive impact of this MSW compost is far greater than of adverse effect. This review addresses the impact of municipal solid waste compost on various soil properties and managing the soil heavy metal contamination to promote soil health.

Keywords: Municipal Solid Waste; Compost; Heavy Metal; Soil Health.