In a non-polluted environment, bacteria, fungi, protists, and other microorganisms are constantly at work breaking down organic matter. What would occur if an organic pollutant such as oil contaminated this environment? Some of the microorganisms would die, while others capable of eating the organic pollution would survive. bioremediation with compost works by providing these pollution-eating organisms with fertilizer, oxygen, and other conditions that encourage their rapid growth. These organisms would then be able to break down the organic pollutant at a correspondingly faster rate. In fact,  compost bioremediation is often used to help clean up oil spills.

 Compost bioremediation of a contaminated site typically works in one of two ways. In the case described above, ways are found to enhance the growth of whatever pollution-eating microbes might already be living at the contaminated site. In the second, less common case, specialized microbes are added to degrade the contaminants.

 Compost Bioremediation provides a good cleanup strategy for some types of pollution, but as you might expect, it will not work for all. For example, bioremediation may not provide a feasible strategy at sites with high concentrations of chemicals that are toxic to most microorganisms. These chemicals include metals such as cadmium or lead, and salts such as sodium chloride.

Nonetheless,  compost bioremediation provides a technique for cleaning up pollution by enhancing the same biodegradation processes that occur in nature. Depending on the site and its contaminants, bioremediation may be safer and less expensive than alternative solutions such as incineration or landfilling of the contaminated materials. It also has the advantage of treating the contamination in place so that large quantities of soil, sediment or water do not have to be dug up or pumped out of the ground for treatment.