Worm Composting
(Vermiculture)

The UMass Dartmouth Recycling program is nurturing a pilot Vermiculture Project to recycle vegetable waste from the on-campus food services division. Vermiculture is the process of using worms (Eisenia foetida) to decompose organic matter. Normal composting uses microorganisms as the primary decomposers. Processed by worms, decaying organic matter becomes worm castings (manure), which look like soil, are nutrient-rich, and full of microorganisms. These castings make a nutrient-rich fertilizer for plants, turning the food waste chain into a closed circle of use.

Worms eat anything that was once living, including: Fruit/vegetable scraps and peelings, tea leaves/bags, coffee grounds, crushed egg shells, torn up newspapers, leaves, and grass clippings (no meat or dairy). The benefits of vermiculture are:

• It recycles nutrients from food back into the foodweb instead of piling food waste into landfills;
• It extends the life of landfills by recycling food waste;
• Worm castings (manure) are rich in nutrients, making them an ideal plant food;
• In soil, castings hold water and release nutrients in a form well-suited to plants;
• Castings are a concentrated fertilizer that is most efficiently used as a portion of a planting mix, but still won’t “burn”plants if applied more heavily;
• Laboratory trails show that even 10% vermicomposting in potting mix improves germination rates, plant growth, appearance and fruiting;
• Castings contain plant growth hormones that provide an energy “kick”to plants;
• It is a low-tech solution to organic solid waste disposal.
• Save money on fertilizer!

This natural low-cost, low-maintenance method of recycling food waste is easy! For more information on the UMass Dartmouth Campus Vermiculture Project contact Deirdre Healy at dhealy@umassd.edu or (508) 999-8641. Check out other vermiculture projects.

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 Last Updated On: 3/16/06