Waste as Food

The ‘waste as food’ concept was coined in the book Cradle to Cradle and is a guideline for contemporary sustainable design. The idea that the ‘waste’ of one product can become the raw material for future products is the first step toward ending the notion that waste can be simply thrown ‘away’ – to a nonexistent place where it will be never seen again.

A large majority of waste is dumped into landfills and buried underground. Most of this waste can never decompose, while most biodegradable materials will take years or even centuries to become soil. Other waste is burned and becomes another source of CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions, which cause global warming.

By using worms to consume and decrease our daily waste output, we can contribute to changing the practice of throwing our waste ‘away’. Worm farms are easy to build and maintain, and will provide fertile soil for you to use in gardens and houseplants.

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Improving Soil Quality

Another benefit of worm farms is that they can create rich soil for growing plants, which in turn reduce CO2 content in the air and slow global warming. Worm castings are the resulting waste that worms make after eating biodegradable household waste, and are naturally rich in nutrients, minerals, and growth enhancers that we often buy in fertilizers.

Artificial fertilizers can contain poisonous chemicals, which disrupt ecosystems and have even led to serious depopulation problems. This can result in the endangerment of animal species at the top of local food chains, as happened with the American Eagle in result of DDT use in chemical fertilizers. By using worm castings to enrich the soil quality of our gardens and plants, we get the benefits of fertilizers without any harmful side effects.

Building Your Worm Farm

Worm farms are easy to build and maintain, and you can store them under your kitchen sink, in a laundry room, or any other dark, quiet place in your home. Download our instruction sheet below to start your own worm farm.

Download: wormfarm_instructions_english_small.pdf (1 MB)

Download: wormfarm_instructions_chinese_small.pdf (1 MB)