Worm composting is a well-known practice in Australia, New Zealand, India, Cuba, Mexico and in the western United States. But it has only recently generated interest in other parts of the country, including Georgia, Florida, Texas and Kentucky. The largest U.S. worm composting operation is in Stockton, Calif., where 70 acres of worms turn sludge from cardboard manufacturing into fertilizer. Australia and New Zealand have developed self-contained toilets for remote parks that rely exclusively on worms for waste disposal. In an effort to reduce the amount of waste headed for landfills, some California and Canadian communities have subsidized the sale of worm bins that dispose of garbage in the home.
Homeowners feed the worms by spreading thin layers of household garbage over the top of the bin.
Last year, a Korean company opened three automated worm composting plants capable of processing about 30 tons of waste a day, said Windle, whose Florida company makes machines that feed garbage to the worms. This article published in the Athens Daily News on Wednesday, March 21, 2001. send this story to a friend discuss this story email the editor opyright 2001 Athens Newspapers Inc.