IoT-Assisted Organic Composting: Sustainable Innovation Pilot 5
Sustainable Innovation Pilot 5 (SIP5), led by EMBIO Diagnostics (Cyprus), addresses one of the most frequently overlooked, yet critical, elements of sustainable agriculture: compost quality and process efficiency. As the European agricultural sector intensifies efforts to reduce its dependency on chemical fertilizers, composting is gaining importance as a sustainable, circular solution for nutrient recycling. Yet traditional composting methods remain highly manual, often inconsistent, and difficult to monitor effectively. SIP5 introduces a fully IoT-assisted composting system, offering real-time monitoring, automated process control, and improved compost quality—all while reducing labor demands and environmental risks.
Organic composting, especially in open-pile systems, requires careful balancing of several biological and environmental parameters. Temperature, moisture, oxygen levels, and microbial activity must all be carefully regulated throughout the composting process to ensure efficient decomposition and high-quality end products. Manual monitoring of these variables is labor-intensive, requiring frequent physical inspections, and offers only limited snapshots of a continuously evolving process. The result is often inconsistent compost quality, inefficient resource use, and higher operational costs.
SIP5 provides an integrated solution that replaces laborious manual oversight with continuous, real-time monitoring powered by wireless sensor networks. Sensor nodes are embedded directly into compost piles to measure key environmental parameters, including temperature, moisture content, and oxygen levels. These parameters are transmitted wirelessly to a central control system that continuously tracks compost pile conditions. If the data indicate deviations from optimal composting conditions, the system automatically initiates corrective actions, such as triggering aeration equipment to restore oxygen levels or adjusting moisture levels through controlled water application.
In addition to physical condition monitoring, the system integrates with local weather data services to factor in external climatic conditions, further refining the timing of interventions. For example, water additions can be adjusted based on recent rainfall or upcoming precipitation forecasts, ensuring the compost maintains ideal moisture levels without unnecessary water input. This data-driven, automated approach enables compost operators to maintain highly consistent composting conditions, improving both the efficiency of the process and the nutrient balance of the final compost product.
SIP5 operates in both cloud-based and edge-based configurations to accommodate different operational environments. In the cloud-based model, sensor data is continuously transmitted to remote servers where advanced analytics support compost quality monitoring, historical data storage, and long-term process optimization. The edge-based model enables on-site data processing and control, ensuring that critical interventions—such as aeration or watering—can occur in real-time even if internet connectivity is limited or unavailable.
As part of the broader OpenAgri Open Source platform, SIP5 integrates several specialized services designed to support composting operations. The Environmental Monitoring Service aggregates sensor data to provide comprehensive insight into compost pile health and process stability. The Compost Quality Analysis Module enables operators to assess compost maturity, nutrient balance, and microbial activity at various process stages, ensuring product consistency and compliance with organic farming standards. The Remote Monitoring Dashboard provides real-time access to both current conditions and historical data, allowing operators to oversee multiple composting sites from a single interface.
The adoption of SIP5 delivers numerous practical benefits to composting facilities and farms producing their own organic fertilizers. Automation significantly reduces the labor required for daily monitoring, freeing staff to focus on other aspects of production. Consistent monitoring and rapid intervention minimize the risks of poor decomposition, nutrient loss, or odor emissions often associated with unmanaged composting. As a result, compost producers achieve higher quality, more uniform compost that better supports soil fertility and crop productivity.
Beyond quality improvements, SIP5 supports environmental goals by lowering greenhouse gas emissions from poorly managed compost piles and preventing nutrient leaching into surrounding soils or waterways. By maximizing decomposition efficiency and stabilizing nutrient content, the system enhances the role of composting as a key contributor to circular, climate-resilient agriculture.
As the agricultural sector works to align production practices with the European Green Deal and Farm to Fork strategies, SIP5 offers a highly replicable, scalable model for modernizing composting operations. Through its integration of IoT technologies, automated control, and OpenAgri’s digital infrastructure, this Sustainable Innovation Pilot demonstrates how organic waste can be transformed into high-quality inputs for sustainable farming—efficiently, consistently, and with minimal environmental impact.