## 1 Introduction
### Related Works
The search was performed between January and May 2025, using Boolean combinations of the keywords \"Digital Twins\", \"Waste Management\", \"Composting\", \"Circular Economy\", \"Solid Waste\", and \"Environmental Monitoring\". Studies were included if they: (I) focused on the application or conceptual development of DTs in waste-related systems; (II) were published between 2020 and 2025; and (III) presented either a conceptual framework or an implementation (simulated or field-tested). Exclusion criteria included purely theoretical articles without relevance to waste, reviews with no original framework, or works unrelated to the domain. From an initial set of 84 publications, 38 were retained after full-text screening. Of these, only 8 included empirical validation through field deployment or operational simulation and are highlighted accordingly in Table 1. His growing trend is documented in Table 1, which summarizes eight representative studies published between 2020 and 2024, including recent works such as compost maturity prediction using IoT-based DTs [36], low-cost DT frameworks for agriculture [37], and DT-based supply chains for hydrogen production from waste [33]. These studies reflect the increasing relevance of DTs in biological and decentralized systems. However, despite their contributions, most of them remain at the conceptual or simulated level and lack full field validation, particularly in rural or low-tech environments. This reinforces the need for applied empirically validated methodologies such as the one proposed in this work. Given the above, the need to develop and implement a methodology for development is highlighted. The main objective of this study is to create a comprehensive methodological proposal to optimize production and service systems in organic waste management, enabling increased operational efficiency and promoting sustainable practices. The study began with an in-depth contextual analysis, identifying the specific needs of the sector and revealing the lack of adequate methodologies for implementing DTs in this area. Key challenges include the technical complexity of designing scalable DT systems, the need for advanced technological infrastructure, and organizational resistance to change, particularly in sectors with limited technological resources. Based on these findings, architecture was developed to structure DT applications and a framework to guide its effective implementation in productive systems. This approach was validated through a practical case study in a composting facility in Cajamarca, Colombia, which not only confirmed the utility of the proposed model but also identified critical areas for improvement and scalability. A comprehensive review of academic publications from 2020 to 2025 yielded a total of 38 relevant studies that mention the application of DT systems in waste-related contexts, including composting, wastewater treatment, food waste, and solid waste management. The yearly distribution shows a gradual increase in interest: 3 studies in 2020, 5 in 2021, 6 in 2022, 7 in 2023, 9 in 2024, and 8 in early 2025 (as of May). However, when filtering for empirical validation (field-tested, pilot-tested, or real-world implementations), only 7 studies met the criteria across the entire period. These include implementations in wastewater treatment plants [39; 40], urban solid waste management [41], and a rural composting network with mobile apps but no physical process optimization [42].