Article
Erlijn van Genuchten
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6 Surprising advantages of using earthworms to get rid of our waste
Vermicomposting involves using earthworms to break down organic waste (credit: Ton Bangkeaw on Shutterstock)
In a world that is designed to produce no waste and reuse everything over and over again, humans have a long time ago decided to change this vital principle. This new way is spiraling out of control, as some resources such as sand are starting to run out (further reading: How To Use Glass Waste as a Sustainable Alternative to Sand in Construction).
Also, we are producing huge amounts of waste worldwide, we produce 38 billion tons of solid organic waste each year alone! Solid organic waste consists of materials that come from either plants or animals and can be broken down naturally. Examples are cow dung, sewage sludge, urban debris, fish pond waste, paper leftovers, textile mill sludge, and sugar industry and beverage industry leftovers.
Because of these huge amounts of waste and the broken principle of reusing materials over and over again, regulations and innovative waste management are needed to deal with this waste in an environmentally friendly and sustainable way. Regulations should promote reducing, reusing, and recycling waste while technologies should promote methodologies that allow us to put waste to good use.
One of these technologies is vermitechnology. Vermitechnology is based on vermicomposting, which involves using earthworms and microorganisms to convert organic waste into nutrient-rich fertilizer. In this process, earthworms help break down the biomass physically and mechanically by turning it into tiny particles, increasing the waste's surface area, and improving the airflow within the waste pile; microorganisms deal with the waste chemically by breaking down larger molecules into their smaller building blocks. This is as opposed to typical composting, which also involves breaking down waste but without using worms. Instead, this process is done by microorganisms only.
Simple vermicomposting setup (credit: m.malinika on Shutterstock)
Vermitechnology can be used in various settings. For example, it can be applied:
- in homes to deal with organic waste produced in daily life, both indoors and outdoors as it doesn't stink
- in industrial batch settings, which means organic waste is added to a reactor in one or multiple batches or put into one or more piles until the waste has decomposed completely and only fertilizer is left
- in industrial continuous feed settings, which means that fertilizer is removed occasionally from the reactor after the waste has decomposed completely so that further organic waste can be added to the reactor. As worms have finished decomposing in this layer, no worms are removed from the reactor
While applying this technology at a large scale is still a challenge and no regulations are in place yet to ensure quality and safety standards, using vermicomposting has many advantages that make it worth overcoming these challenges:
Vermicomposting of organic food waste produces high-quality garden soil (credit: thoughtsofjoyce on Shutterstock)
Nutrient-rich
The first main advantage of vermicomposting is that the output is nutrient-rich. Nutrient-rich means that the remains of the composting process contain a lot of substances that are valuable for plants. It contains 2–3% nitrogen (almost 2 times more than in normal compost), 1.85–2.25% potassium, and 1.55–2.25% phosphorus (about 1.5 times more than in normal compost). Also, micronutrients such as vitamins and minerals, beneficial microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi, and plant growth hormones end up in vermicompost. This makes vermicompost an excellent fertilizer and even better than typical compost because it contains more nutrients. For example, vermicompost contains about 2 times more nitrogen and about 1.5 times more phosphorus than normal compost. This is because earthworms speed up the breakdown of organic matter and make some parts of the organic waste dry out.
Few harmful microorganisms
The second main advantage of vermicomposting is that the output contains few harmful microorganisms. This is possible because earthworms reduce the number of harmful bacteria during the vermicomposting process. This happens directly because of high enzyme activity, both in the earthworms' guts and their excretion, and because of the antibacterial properties of fluids that are secreted by the earthworms. Enzymes speed up chemical reactions without taking part in it. This also happens indirectly when beneficial microorganisms kill the harmful bacteria and when air enters the compost through the earthworms' burrowing holes.
Improving soil
The third main advantage of vermicomposting is that the output can improve soil. Improving soil involves:
- making it more fertile because of the many nutrients in vermicompost
- improving soil structure for example by making it easier for air to enter the soil, making it less dense, and making soil able to store more water
- neutralizing the acidity level (pH) of soil as the pH of vermicompost is neutral. This causes vermicompost to make acidic soil more alkaline, and alkaline soil more acidic. This means that vermicompost can increase or decrease the acidity level, depending on what the soil needs
The pH scale (credit: AIexVector on Shutterstock)
Other advantages
Apart from these three main advantages of vermicomposting, other advantages include:
- Vermicomposting works with over 4000 different types of earthworms. These earthworms can be grouped into three categories: epigeic earthworms who live on the earth's surface in leaf litter, anecic earthworms who live in vertical burrows in soils, and endogeic earthworms who live in horizontal burrows in the soil's top layer. This means that these earthworms can be found in many different environments and across the world, making them widely available.
- The vermicomposting process produces less methane than the typical composting process. As methane is a strong greenhouse gas, vermicomposting contributes less to global warming. This is especially the case when methane is captured in a large-scale, industrial setting and used as biogas, an alternative energy source to fossil fuels.
- Vermicomposting is an affordable way to deal with organic waste, especially in home settings.
How we can take action
So, using vermicomposting technology to deal with our organic waste has many advantages. These advantages include that the output is high in nutrients which benefits plants, contains few harmful microorganisms, and improves soil. Other advantages include that many types of worms can be used, that the vermicomposting process produces fewer greenhouse gases than typical composting, and that this technology is affordable, especially in home settings.
- Because vermicomposting has many benefits and it is affordable at home, here are practical ideas of what you and I can do to contribute to vermicomposting:
- Setting up or buying a simple vermicomposting structure to deal with organic waste at home. This works both outdoors and indoors as it doesn't stink. Here is an example of how to do this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPcWeL1JBpI
- Using compost instead of inorganic fertilizers to support plant growth
- Capturing worms from the ground for the vermicomposting bin instead of buying them in a shop
- Adding organic waste to the vermicompost bin instead of sending it to landfill
Which one of these can you implement in your daily life? And do you have further ideas of what you and I could do? Thank you in advance for putting them into practice and sharing them in a comment to this question to inspire all of us.
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Did you enjoy this article? Then I'm sure you'll love my book "A Guide to A Healthier Planet" as well. Have a peek inside the book at:
A Guide to a Healthier Planet
This book focuses on closing the gap between scientific insights on pressing environmental issues that do not often reach the general public.
https://www.sustainabledecisions.eu/guide-to-a-healthier-planet
About the author
Dr. Erlijn van Genuchten is a an internationally recognized environmental sustainability expert. She is a science communicator, helping scientists in the fields of nature and sustainability increase the outreach of their results and allowing us all to put scientific insights into practice and contribute to a sustainable future. Erlijn has inspired thousands of people around the world — for example — by supporting the United Nations with her expertise, her book “A Guide to A Healthier Planet” published by Springer Nature, her YouTube channel Xplore Nature, and her posts on social media.
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