‘Angels of the earth’

MANILA, Philippines -- The growing popularity of vermicomposting has cast the lowly earthworm in a new light.

Vermicomposting refers to the process of using earthworms to turn organic waste into vermicompost -- also known as vermicast, worm compost, worm castings, worm humus or worm manure -- a high quality natural fertilizer and soil conditioner.

Earthworms have been dubbed “nature’s tiny farmers” because of their ability to help plow, aerate, hydrate and fertilize the earth and produce plant food.

As a result, farmers, environmentalists, homeowners, gardeners, entrepreneurs and governments are now praising the soil-revitalizing powers of this slimy invertebrate.

‘Angels of the earth’

Antonio de Castro, a self-trained vermiculturist, said that the Chinese character for earthworms, when translated into English, means “angels of the earth.”

His company, Earthworm Sanctuary, conducts seminars and workshops on earthworms and composting. He has been coordinating with government and the private sector, particularly with environmentalists, in developing the local vermiculture industry.

De Castro grew up in the United States where he taught English Literature at the San Francisco State University. After five years of teaching, however, he decided to return to the Philippines.

The volume of trash -- mostly dead leaves and kitchen waste -- that littered the compound in San Francisco del Monte, Quezon City, where he and his family live, prompted him to think of a better waste disposal system.

At the same time, he found Metro Manila wallowing in a garbage crisis. According to the National Solid Waste Management Commission, food and kitchen waste account for about 45 percent of the total volume of garbage generated by Metro Manila, estimated at 6,169 tons daily.

The figure is expected to double by 2010, according to Environment Secretary Angelo T. Reyes in a report to the League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP).

The garbage problem prompted De Castro to go into vermicomposting, also as an alternative to chemical-based farming.

“Organic crops contain no contaminants,” he said. “The use of vermicompost is good for the health of the farmers because by using vermicompost, they avoid regular exposure to toxins and other harmful chemicals.”

Earthworm Sanctuary

In 2002, he set up an earthworm farm in his family compound and called it the Earthworm Sanctuary because “we are very protective of the earthworms; we want to provide them an environment where they can do what they do best -- eat and reproduce.”

The farm uses the African night crawler species (Eudrilus eugeniae), a voracious processor of organic wastes. It has a high reproductive rate (an adult breeding earthworm produces 3.6 cocoons per week) and can thrive in a wide range of environments that duplicate its ideal living conditions.

The species was introduced in the country in the ’80s by Dr. Rafael D. Guerrero III, executive director of the Philippine Council for Aquatic and Marine Research Development, an agency under the Department and Science and Technology.

Earthworm Sanctuary produces about 500 kilos or half a ton of vermicompost every month. “We have now reached the stage where, because of the voracity of the earthworms, we have to ask around for leaves and grass to feed our earthworms,” De Castro said.

He also put up an organic farm in Palawan province using vermicast. “I can testify to the superiority of vermicast as a fertilizer because it is the only fertilizer that we have been using in the past four years to grow lettuce, tomatoes, eggplant, cilantro, ampalaya (bitter gourd), watermelon and many other crops,” he said.

Vermicomposting is a simple technology that does not require a big capital and intensive labor. One can start with a kilo of earthworms which costs from P500 to P1,000.

The basic materials for earthworm beds are hollow blocks, plastic sheets and used fishing nets. A shredder is optional since the earthworms shred the substrate or waste materials which usually consist of discarded vegetable, animal manure, rice hull (ipa), sawdust (kusot), hay (dayami) and leaves.

In a limited space, earthworm beds can be stacked at a certain height to be determined by the vermiculturist. De Castro works full time observing and experimenting on earthworms and setting up earthworm farms. His studies prove, among other things, that vermicomposting can reduce organic waste significantly and help solve the problems concerning dumps and landfills.

The earthworm as an agent for generating wealth from waste now plays a stellar role in the relentless and integrated efforts of the private and public sectors to save the environment, increase food production, improve nutrition and perk up the economy.

It might as well be called “the heroic earthworm,” said Odette Alcantara, an enviromentalist

Office Worm Farms

Worm turns as farms feast on hair and pizza

FOOD scraps, shredded paper and cardboard are being recycled in worm farms placed in State Government office buildings as part of an effort to reduce waste.
Bits of leftover fruit, vegetables, pizza boxes, tea bags, eggshells, bread, hair and shredded paper are put into the unit where they are "eaten" or decomposed by the worm population.
The specially bred worms convert the fresh materials into castings, a brown, soil-like material high in nutrients that can be used as fertiliser for gardens and pot plants.
The Department of Environment and Climate Change (DECC) is leading the campaign with worm farms in many of its offices around the state.
At Hurstville, three farms housing 6000 worms were installed six weeks ago.
Information Technology specialist Helga Klepsch, who introduced the idea, said the worms were so popular with staff, they were in danger of being over-fed.
"So far the worms seem to be happy and thriving," she said. "We have worm champions on every floor who are responsible for making sure the food bins in every kitchen are placed in the farms regularly. Nothing is put in there that shouldn't be and the farms are covered over.
"Anyone from staff can take containers of the worm waste home for their own garden as a really nutritious and effective form of compost."
DECC director-general Lisa Corbyn said offices throughout NSW were taking up the challenge, with Queanbeyan employees composting all food and weed waste from the site and using it in their office's own vegetable patch.
"Worm farming is a really easy, clean and sustainable way even the smallest of offices can contribute to cutting waste and greenhouse gases," Ms Corbyn said.
"While everyone is doing a great job recycling at home, we need to make a bigger effort in our offices, shops and shopping centres."
About half of all household waste is organic and when deposited in landfill it produces methane, a potent greenhouse gas.
Local councils sell worm farms for about $50 to $70 and some provide them free on the completion of a workshop.
Source: The Sun-Herald

news from South Africa

South African worm farmer Shaun Gibbons shows some of his livestock in the worm farm at the city's Mount Nelson hotel in Cape Town, South Africa July 31, 2006. REUTERS/Howard Burditt

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S.African hotel pampers worms to cut waste

By Gordon Bell

CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - Thousands of earthworms guzzle tonnes of scrap food left over from the tables of the rich and famous at South Africa's plush Mount Nelson hotel, quietly doing their bit to save the planet.

Cape Town's oldest and most famous hotel -- a pink temple to pampering where visiting celebrities are welcomed by doormen in traditional colonial-era pith helmets -- has its own worm farm to help slash waste and, ultimately, tackle climate change.

"This may seem simplistic but it was simply the right thing to do. We're taking responsibility and actually producing something of value out of the waste," Sharon Baharavi, of the five-star Mount Nelson, told Reuters.

The worms are kept out of sight of patrons enjoying the opulent surroundings and gourmet treats, but they bask in pampered luxury in a backroom a short slither from the presidential suite.

Up to 15 cm (nearly 6 inches) long, the worms, commonly known as red wrigglers or tiger worms, are housed in specially-designed crates and fed vegetable leftovers from the kitchen and pricey restaurant tables.

Their fluid excrement, or "worm tea", is carefully harvested and used as a prized fertiliser in the hotel's rolling gardens, where peacocks parade on manicured lawns. Their other by-product, vermicast, is a rich compost.

"They are a specific species. They love food. They love eating decomposing food and they are really good at it. They've got a ferocious appetite," said environmental activist Mary Murphy.

WORMS TO THE RESCUE?

Murphy, one of the drivers of the project, said the potential of such projects was huge.

"If we think really big ... if everybody took their organic waste and processed it through vermiculture or worm farms and we stopped organic waste going to landfill sites, it would have a dramatic impact on climate change."

"It's incredible. They reduce waste by 70 percent (and) there is no smell here," she says, wearing an "I dig worms" T-shirt and surrounded by thousands of the munching critters.

The worms neutralise harmful bacteria, such as Ecoli, and produce beneficial bacteria while increasing the levels of nitrogen and potassium in the soil -- elements that help vegetables grow.

"It is exactly what we need to feed the soil and therefore feed vegetables and feed people," Murphy said.

Organic waste on rubbish dumps releases carbon dioxide and methane, greenhouse gases that trap heat in the atmosphere, adding to global warming.

"Methane is particularly bad because it has about 20 times greater affinity for heat than carbon dioxide," said environmental scientist Roger Jacques.

The worms prevent this by devouring the waste and turning it into stabilised organic matter.

The Mount Nelson project is the first of its kind in South Africa, and Murphy wants to expand it to the hotel's competitors as well as schools and restaurants.

The hotel is processing about 20 percent of its organic waste through the worm farm but hopes to extend that to 100 percent within the next nine months, as the earthworms reproduce and the farm expands.

Under the right conditions, two worms can become a million in just one year.

The project may also help South Africa work towards a goal of stopping waste going to landfill sites by 2022 by encouraging people to find other ways to deal with refuse.

"Without a doubt, organic waste on landfill sites is what's producing a huge bulk of our methane gas that's contributing significantly to climate change," Murphy said.

"Worms can save the world!" she said.