It is a system for recycling household organic waste, with worms transforming food scraps into fertilizer. This process – called vermicomposting – takes place inside plastic boxes filled with soil, where the “workers” gobble up leftover food, digesting this material and generating a super-fertile humus in the place. To get an idea of the ecological potential of earthworms, data from the Ministry of Agriculture reveal that Brazil produces around 144,000 tons of organic waste daily, which corresponds to 60% of urban waste. All this dirt ends up going to landfills and dumps, where it often ends up polluting groundwater, among other ills. If this material were included in the diet of domestic earthworms, we would have no less than 86,000 fresh tons of humus per day!
Minhocas SA
See how earth workers turn organic waste into fertilizer
1. The worm farm is made up of three plastic boxes, the top two of which are filled with soil. In the upper container are the approximately 200 worms that will touch the work. In general, Californian earthworms are used, “specialists” in organic waste
2. Food leftovers, such as vegetable peelings and fruit pieces, are then dumped into this box. But not everything can go to the worms’ “plate”. On the list of banned foods are meats and cheeses – which can rot -, as well as salty or very acidic foods.
3. After covering everything with sawdust or straw, to maintain moisture, close the lid and the worms go to work. “The success of the worm farm depends on our food. The more diversified the garbage, the richer the fertilizer generated will be”, says Cláudio Spinola, from Morada da Floresta, in São Paulo, an organization that produces worm farms
4. As soon as it is full, this box goes to the second floor, where, for about two months, the worms go to work on digestion. The container that was on the second floor goes to the top, where it will receive the new food scraps.
5. While the rango decomposition process goes on, a liquid rich in nutrients and free of bacteria flows into the base box, where it is stored. This good manure can be collected and then sprayed on the plants, serving as fertilizer and pesticide.
6. As food is absorbed, most worms move to the top box in search of more food. In the intermediate container, we have the fertilizer ready, fresh to be used in gardens and vases
Consultancy – Morada da Floresta and Minhocasa Project