Pharmaceuticals and personal care products including all human and veterinary drugs, are emerging contaminants of concern [1,2]. Among these pharmaceuticals and personal care products are antibiotics [3]. About 50 to 90% of antibiotics and/or their metabolites are eliminated from the body through urine and feces which then enter the environment through sewage treatment plants or organic fertili...

The recycling of rural and urban organic waste materials onto agricultural land provides a challenge to the producers and end-users who both have a 'duty-of-care' to ensure the method of disposal is managed in a sustainable way. Careful management means that soil and water resources are not contaminated, the agricultural production system remains stable, and land use alternatives remain availab...

The consumption of organic food has grown remarkably, both in developed and developing countries. Although organic food comprises only a small fraction of the food market, its rapid growth has generated much interest among consumers and businesses, as well as researchers. For products to be called organic, the production must conform to a certain established organic standard and be certified by...

extended abstract 1. introduction more than one decade has passed since the significant and extensive emergence of organic agricultural concepts on international level. rapid and serious loss of vital agricultural resources due to erosion, salinization of land, desertification, extinction of species and environmental pollution is among the world's major concerns. the main cause of such a concer...

The agricultural production system in Sri Lanka consists of two traditional and well-defined components. One is the plantation section, established during the colonial period, consisting of large units, and producing perennial crops such as coffee, tea, rubber, and coconut mainly for export. The other is the smallholder sector comprised of small farms which produce most of the country’s rice, v...

The composting process is a proven method of stabilizing organically-based substrates into high quality organic matter sources which are suitable for horticultural, turf and agricultural applications. Composting has also become a popular waste treatment process, used by many nations around the world, to transform society’s by-products into valuable products that can actually benefit society. As...

Abstract Organic farming is not a 21st century fashion trend. As early as the beginning of 20th century, some scientists began to treat soil fertility with understanding. Already in seventies negative effects chemicals were identified when they added soil. It was at this time that European Union introduced ban on these fertilizers and 1980s, organic agricultural production gradually develop. Re...