With the rise in population and economic development, municipal solid waste (MSW) is being produced massively, especially in developing countries. Chinese cities generate more than 100 million tons of MSW every year [1]. A lot of attention has been paid to the disposal of large volumes of MSW in China. Composting has proved to be an effective way to reduce large quantities of MSW and accelerate the biodegradable components to decompose and stabilize, for completely sustainable recycling [2]. The use of MSW compost on agricultural land enables the recycling of valuable plant nutrients N, P, and K plus micronutrients and organic matter, resulting in beneficial effects on soil properties such as water-holding capacity, aeration and porosity, and plant nutrition [3][4][5]. However, MSW compost often contains potentially toxic metals that can cause phytotoxicity, soil contamination, and accumulation in plant and animal products [6][7][8]. Therefore, toxic metals should be cleaned up before MSW compost application on agricultural land.Phytoextraction, which uses appropriate plants to remove metals from contaminated soils, has gained popularity due to its low cost and comparatively lower damage [9, 10]. Early studies mostly focused on hyperaccumulator plant species and more than 400 species of hyperaccumulators have been documented in the world [11,12]. Though hyperaccumulators can accumulate exceptionally high quantities of metals, they are not practically used in phytoextraction partly due to the fact that the hyperaccumulator plants are relatively rare, have limited response to various metals, and maintain a slow growth rate [13]. Thus identification of more effective hyperaccumulators is of Pol. J. Environ. Stud. Vol. 24, No. 1 (2015), [413][414][415][416][417]
AbstractA field experiment was conducted to evaluate the efficiency of native monocotyledonous weed species for heavy metal phytoextraction from municipal solid waste (MSW) compost. Results showed that total contents of cadium (Cd), copper (Cu), and zinc (Zn) in MSW compost generally exceeded the maximum levels indicated in Chinese regulations, except nickel (Ni). The general trend of metal accumulation in plants was Zn>Cu>Ni>Cd and accumulation differences depended on plant species. Except for Carex tristachya, the Cd, Cu, and Ni contents in above-ground parts of four other species were within the normal values in plants. Most plants accumulated target metals mostly in the roots. With BCF and TF values >1, Carex tristachya displayed some Cd-hyperaccumulative characteristics, being classified as potential species for phytoextraction of Cd from MSW compost. Other species can be considered adequate candidates for metal stabilization and soil conservation.