Waste management is necessary for environmental and economic sustainability, but it depends upon socioeconomic, political, and environmental factors. More countries are shifting toward recycling as compared to landfilling; thus, different researchers have presented the zero waste concept, considering the importance of sustainability. This review was conducted to provide information about different well established and new/emerging technologies which could be used to recover nutrients from wastes and bring zero waste concepts in practical life. Technologies can be broadly divided into the triangle of nutrient accumulation, extraction, and release. Physicochemical mechanisms, plants, and microorganisms (algae and prokaryotic) could be used to accumulate nutrients. Extraction of nutrient is possible through electrodialysis and crystallization while nutrient release can occur via thermochemical and biochemical treatments. Primary nutrients, i.e., nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, are used globally and are non-renewable. Augmented upsurges in prices of inorganic fertilizers and required discharge restrictions on nutrients have stimulated technological developments. Thus, well-proven technologies, such as biochar, composting, vermicomposting, composting with biochar, pyrolysis, and new emerging technologies (forward osmosis and electro-dialysis) have potential to recover nutrients from wastes. Therefore, reviewing the present and imminent potential of these technologies for adaptation of nutrient recycling from wastes is of great importance. Since waste management is a significant concern all over the globe and technologies, e.g., landfill, combustion, incineration, pyrolysis, and gasification, are available to manage generated wastes, they have adverse impacts on society and on the environment. Thus, climate-friendly technologies, such as composting, biodegradation, and anaerobic decomposition, with the generation of non-biodegradable wastes need to be adopted to ensure a sustainable future environment. Furthermore, environmental impacts of technology could be quantified by life cycle assessment (LCA). Therefore, LCA could be used to evaluate the performance of different environmentally-friendly technologies in waste management and in the designing of future policies. LCA, in combination with other approaches, may prove helpful in the development of strategies and policies for the selection of dynamic products and processes.

Drought is a major constraint in drylands for crop production. Plant associated microbes can help plants in acquisition of soil nutrients to enhance productivity in stressful conditions. The current study was designed to illuminate the effectiveness of desert rhizobacterial strains on growth and net-return of chickpeas grown in pots by using sandy loam soil of Thal Pakistan desert. A total of 125 rhizobacterial strains were isolated, out of which 72 strains were inoculated with chickpeas in the growth chamber for 75 days to screen most efficient isolates. Amongst all, six bacterial strains (two rhizobia and four plant growth promoting rhizobacterial strains) significantly enhanced nodulation and shoot-root length as compared to other treatments. These promising strains were morphologically and biochemically characterized and identified through 16sRNA sequencing. Then, eight consortia of the identified isolates were formulated to evaluate the growth and development of chickpea at three moisture levels (55%, 75% and 95% of field capacity) in a glass house experiment. The trend for best performing consortia in terms of growth and development of chickpea remained T₂ at moisture level 1 > T₇ at moisture level 2 > T₄ at moisture level 3. The present study indicates the vital role of co-inoculated bacterial strains in growth enhancement of chickpea under low moisture availability. It is concluded from the results that the consortium T₂ (Mesorhizobium ciceri RZ-11 + Bacillus subtilis RP-01 + Bacillus mojavensis RS-14) can perform best in drought conditions (55% field capacity) and T₄ (Mesorhizobium ciceri RZ-11 + Enterobacter Cloacae RP-08 + Providencia vermicola RS-15) can be adopted in irrigated areas (95% field capacity) for maximum productivity of chickpea.

Nutrients management is a mainspring in agricultural systems for sustained productivity, economy sustainability and environmental quality. Excessive and lesser nutrient application caused environmental pollution and reduced production, respectively impacting socio-economics of the entire ecosystems. Sustainable agricultural production thus demands supplementation of nutrients either through natural processes, application of animal by-products, and mineral fertilizers to crop fields. Technology application for treating useless agricultural wastes into useful source is a management strategy that prevents environment pollution. Crude animal manures triggered soil degradation, attenuation air and water quality, and resulted in higher concentrations of heavy metals. Primary nutrients, i.e., nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium are used globally and are non-renewable. Augmented upsurge in prices of inorganic fertilizers and required discharge restrictions on nutrient has stimulated the technological developments including biochar, composting, vermicomposting, composting with biochar, pyrolysis, forward osmosis, and electro-dialysis to recover nutrients. Therefore, outlining the research gaps considering the present and imminent potential of these technologies for adaptation of nutrient recycling is of great importance. Thus, it’s need of an hour to fix our environment and for that scientists are trying to introduce and renovate the technologies which have immense potential to mitigate the negative effects of technology adversities on our environment.

Lentil (Lens culinaris Medic) is the main pulse crop and usually has low production due to numerous factors and cultivation practices. A field study was designed to investigate the best trace elements (Co, Nin, and Se) for sole application or in combination as fertigation after sowing for the lentil variety (NIA Masoor-2005). Comparatively better crop growth and yield with better quality were obtained through the application of Co, Ni, and Se, at 600, 600, and 300 g ha-1, respectively. The maximum grain yield (1638 kg ha-1) was harvested from the treatment where Co, Ni, and Se were applied at 600 g ha-1, which was 15% higher than that of the control receiving no trace elements. According to economic analyses, the best performing treatment is the use of Ni and Co in full doses, as Se has high and does not have economically effective results. All three trace elements had a positive impact on lentil nodulation (up to 33%), seed protein (4.6%), and yield increase (15%) over the control receiving no trace elements. However, with the application of Co and Ni at 600 g ha-1, each was found to be the most economical and showed comparable results regarding growth, nodulation, and yield contributing parameters compared to Co, Ni, and Se, each at 600 g ha-1. It was concluded that the use of trace elements (Co, Ni, and Se), individually or in combination, is economical and has the capacity to increase the yield and nodulation of lentils.