Actual MSW was obtained from a full-scale composting facility (Recomp, St. Cloud, Minn).
It consisted of mixed residential waste devoid of yard wastes.
Preprocessing of the MSW included screening the material to seven inches and then drum homogenizing it for three days. Material was again decreased (to 1.5 inches) and then either diverted to a pilot-scale facility (Procter & Gamble, Cincinnati,
Ohio), or fed into a forced aeration trench (Royer Industries Inc., Kingston, Pa.) at the Recomp full-scale facility.