Sarah Laird (15) believes that at least a portion of our growing waste mountain could easily be disposed of by feeding it to worms. She proved it by preparing a compact wormery that handled kitchen waste. "The theme of the project is composting and to see if the worms could compost the waste of a family of four," the Transition-year student from East Glendalough School, Wicklow, explained.
Sarah used a discarded washing machine drum as a composter and added waste and 800 gm of red worms, similar to earthworms but somewhat smaller.
She treated the worms to a diet that included paper, tea bags, kiwi-fruit skins, apple cores, eggshells and whatever else the kitchen provided. "They need a very rich diet to survive, so your waste scraps are perfect."
The wormery need not be large, so space would not be a problem for apartment dwellers. "I found it is a viable option," Sarah said. "It can smell but if it is properly maintained it won't smell too much."
The resultant compost is also a valuable resource. "The stuff is great in the garden!"