More thoughts on large scale vermicomposting

A few weeks ago I had an e-mail conversation with a person from Mt. Abrams ski mountain. She was interested in using vermicomposting to help achieve conservation goals.

I shared the following information and considerations. I thought I would open this discussion to share with others and solicit additional information.

In general, vermicomposting could be used to save $$ on solid waste disposal and be good for the environment. However, there are some limitations and challenges that should be considered.

I have a related blog about that somewhat relates to these situations and presents some of my earlier thoughts (http://wormmainea.blogspot.com/2009/03/sourcing-food-for-my-herd-and-dreams-of.html).

I think your best bet is to partner with someone who is already making compost (either a farm or facility). Here is a list of compost facilities I found on the DEP website: http://www.maine.gov/dep/maps-data/documents/compostfacil.pdf

Second best option would be to set up your own on-site outdoor composting (knowing that without a lot of effort it will be mostly dormant during winter). The obvious drawbacks here are staff hours to maintain, the possible need for permits, and then the possibility of attracting pests (large and small).

The tricky part for vermicomposting on your scale will be sizing your herd that allows for reasonable processing of the compostable waste. I suspect your additions will be seasonal (obviously). This can be tricky for vermicomposting, because you're better to scale too big than too small to be able to process the maximum additions so you don't have problems (bad smells, etc). However, that can be expensive and difficult to maintain (food supply must be consistent for a stable population). Look at my situation, I import compostables to feed my herd to maintain a population that permits me to sell or donate (on average) about 1 pound of worms per week.

Perhaps that is another viable solution: can you get enough staff/coworkers to set up worm bins at home who may be willing to bring a bucket home for their worms? A decentralized system like this can work, but you have to have enough people to make it work. This may not be reasonable for you, but it is part of the discussion that should be mentioned. It can work and provide staff with a great source of vermicompost.

A final consideration for vermicomposting is managing the waste prior to addition. Vermicomposting is a bit more restrictive (in terms of what can be added) than outdoor hot compossting. Salt and oil in particular must be limited. This can present challenges (problems) during collection, and will require education of all involved.

In all honesty, I think your best solution is to find a local farm or compost facility to take your waste. Like solid waste disposal, there will be costs associated with this, but the costs should be less than landfilling (since the receiver is able to make & sell a product). I think we need more compost facilities in Maine to provide solutions to business and compost for Maine citizens. Until Maine businesses demonstrate a need for these as a service, the growth of these operations is slow. I am very please to learn that Mt Abram is moving in this direction.

I don't want to discourage you, but I want you to benefit from the many discussions I have had with schools and businesses looking to incorporate vermicomposting into their waste stream.

Cheers,

Mark