Last October, in order to be more mindful as a business, as to where the waste that we collectively contribute to, goes, our Marketing Assistant Zoe set up a workplace wormery at our Rayleigh office. Food scraps were a small place to start, but a starting point never the less.
We asked her about Project Worm and if you follow Zoe on LinkedIn, you will know about her penchant for worms!
First question Zoe, what’s wrong with putting food scraps in the bin?
The [organic] remains of lunch and snacks were an area that I felt could be better managed. Historically, all scraps went straight into the bin, which was collected by an external waste company and then who really knows – but out of sight, out of mind. If all the scraps went into a worm bin, eventually the worms would turn the leftovers into soil and then the soil could be used for our plants in the Soilfix garden. Circular economy in its purest form.
What kinds of food scraps go into the bin?
Primarily teabags, banana peels, apple cores, ground-down egg shells and any old salad bits left in the fridge at the end of the week (cucumber, tomatoes, radishes). Anything deemed organic.
Highlight of the project
– seeing a Worm egg for the first time
– seeing worms mate (pretty cool, but slightly regrettable – sorry worms)
– running your hands through lovely rich soil (and understanding why it is known as black gold)
Low part of the project
– patiently waiting for the process to happen (one is not patient!)
– whilst on holiday, it rained hard for 2 days solid, I’d left all the new soil in a crate and was partway through de-worming the soil. When I came back, there was an inch of water above the soil and a handful of dead worms. As there were no drainage holes, the crate became a bucket!! Miraculously, most of the worms escaped and wiggled over to a bag of compost that I had nearby. Worms are so clever!!
Has it taught you anything?
– Nature, although totally amazing, happens on its own time.
– It takes years for an eggshell to decompose – if you grind the eggshells first and add to the wormery, this acts as grit that worms require to break food down.
– Slugs are the Houdini’s of the Animal Kingdon (HOW do they get in!!)
What project do you have planned next?
Operation Compost Bin (for the leaves that shred from next doors trees and the single-use hand towel in the toilets) as well as Operation Water Butt! Although at some point before the Spring starts, I need to finish de-worming 50 litres of soil!!
and finally … what are you going to do with all the soil?
Many of the Soilfix staff are avid gardeners, so whoever wants a bag of 2022 home-harvested soil is welcome.
Interested in starting your own office wormery?
we used the original wormery composter from The Original Organics company
