The Worm Colonization

This weekend, I finally picked up the "worm condo" offered by the NYC Compost project. Basically, as part of the City's green effort, the municipal council made the decision to subsidize the distribution of home composting devices. After attending a 2 hour instructional session, a worm composting bin and a worm "founder" population can be had for $10 instead of the usual $50 price. The "condo" itself is a rather simple design. It's a large, rectangular bin made out of clear plastic, with a flat top lid and 4 aluminum-mesh, lateral, ventilation ports. An 8-inch deep layer of shredded newspapers are set down onto the bottom of the bin, this becomes the bed of the worm condo.

Under the light of 2 CF bulbs, I move the worms out of their tiny cardboard container along with a handful of their home soil. The little red worms were deposited onto the middle of the shredded newspaper bed. The worms began wriggling frantically under the light. They were palpably burrowing away from the light. They were heading in all directions into the shredded paper, creating a circular colonization wavefront of sorts. I can't help but associate this act of disembarking to a scene from some science fiction novel. A group of brave colonists, heading out of their generational spaceship onto an wholly alien planet, underneath the light of two suns.

My little colonists are of the red worm breed. The original stock of these creatures once inhabited the forest floors of central Europe. Their natural environment being a semi-damp carpet of dead leaves and twigs with scattered deposits of edible berries, nuts, and fungus. The ancestors of these worms developed the ability to metabolize both human-edible foods as well as cellulose. Due to the harsh demands of their Eurasian homeland, these hardy worms developed high disease resistance and quick breeding cycles.

In any case, after 3 hours, all of the worms have burrowed into the paper layer. The lights are then turned off, and the worm condo is deemed operational. The worm condo can compost a variety of wastes. Most biodegradable paper and cardboard scraps can be fed to the worms. Almost all food scraps can be deposited there as well. This particular condo has a capacity for processing 3 lbs of food wastes and another 5 lbs paper waste per week. Effectively, that is over 50% of my total weekly garbage output.



For all of you in NYC wanting to compost your own garbage, check out the NYC Compost Project