composting WITH WORMS
About 8-10 percent of the total waste stream in Cuyahoga County is composed of food scraps. For individual businesses such as restaurants, food scraps can represent as much as 50% of their garbage.
Vermicomposting (composting with worms) has been successfully implemented by a variety of businesses and facilities around the country, including hotels, restaurants, grocery wholesalers and retailers plus recreational facilities. Vermicomposting is also efficient way to compost food scraps from your home.
Learn more about our
composting seminars.
Building Your Worm Bin
You can build your own bin for minimal cost, using new wood and hardware or recycled materials. Worm bins can also be made from wooden boxes or other containers. Any worm bin must have drainage in the bottom and a tight fitting lid to keep moisture in and pests out.
A worm bin is designed for composting vegetable food wastes using red worms. Food wastes and worms are "bedded" in shredded and moistened newspaper, cardboard, peat, or brown leaves. The worms turn both food wastes and bedding into a high-quality compost suitable for use on house plants, seedlings, or general garden use.
To maintain a worm bin system, simply rotate burial of food wastes throughout the bin. Every 3-6 months, compost should be moved to one side of the bin and new bedding added to the empty half. At this time, bury waste in the new bedding only. Within one month, worms will populate the new bedding; finished compost may be harvested, and the rest of the bin can be rebedded.
During the winter, worm bins should be kept in a cool indoor space, such as a basement or warm garage, to avoid freezing. A properly maintained worm bin is odorless. Bins may be placed in a shady outdoor space the remainder of the year. Flies may be controlled by placing a sheet of plastic over the bedding.
A starter batch of worms can be purchased via a worm farm, the nearest fish bait shop, Amazon or at
www.planetnatural.com. You can also try finding some in an old compost pile!
Additional Resources
If you wish to establish a commercial vermicomposting operation, please contact your local health department for details.