Vermicomposting of organic wastes by earthworms: Making wealth from waste by converting ‘garbage into gold’ for farmers

All over the world, organic wastes generated by modern human society are mounting significantly due to rising population and growing culture of consumerism. Millions of tons of organic wastes (food, farm and green wastes) are ending up in the landfills every day, creating great economic and environmental problems for the local governments to manage them safely. Only construction of secured waste landfills incurs $30–40 million US dollars before the first load of waste is disposed. Waste disposal in the landfills costs about $65 per ton. During 2002–03, the cost of waste disposal in Australia was $2458.2 million (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2004). Organic wastes in landfills emit huge and powerful greenhouse gases (3640 mg CO2-e /m2/hour) inducing global warming and climate change. They also emit some toxic gases (Xylene and Toluene) if they are not properly dumped and covered. Waste landfills in Australia emitted some 17 million tons of greenhouse gases in 2005. Best solution is vermicomposting of organic wastes by waste-eater earthworms. Most voracious waste-eater species of earthworms are Eisenia fetida also called ‘Tiger Worms’, Eudrilus eugeniae also called ‘African Night Crawler’ and Perionyx excavates also called ‘Indian Blue Worms’. Vermicomposting involves about 100–1000 times higher value addition in the end-product (vermicompost – a highly nutritive organic fertilizers), converting waste into wealth for farmers. Given the optimum conditions of temperature and moisture, about 1000 earthworms can vermicompost 10 kg of organic wastes or 10,000 earthworms can vermicompost 1 ton of organic wastes in just 30 days. Vermicompost gives 5–7 times higher food productivity over the conventional composts and significantly higher over the chemical fertilizers and also protect crops from pests and diseases (Arancon and Edwards, 2004). Vermicomposting of organic wastes by earthworms will also significantly reduce emission of greenhouse gases as compared to the huge emissions from the landfills. It only emits 463 mg CO2-e/m2/hour. The body fluid of earthworms termed as vermiwash, produced during vermicomposting also works as a powerful bio-pesticides. The foods produced by vermicompost are chemical-free organic foods, highly nutritious (rich in vitamins and minerals) and also health protective (due to rich in antioxidants). Vermicompost also have high soil moisture holding capacity (nearly 30–40 percent) and hence also reduce the need of water for farm irrigation. Huge earthworms’ biomass also comes as a valuable by-product of vermicomposting of organic wastes as the earthworms multiplies very fast doubling their population every 60–70 days. Earthworms are finding many new uses in the modern world in the production of vermi-medicines to protect human beings from several diseases and also from heart diseases and cancers, protein rich vermi-meals for cattle, poultry and piggery farming increasing production of milk and meat. Earthworms are also being used for production of biodegradable detergents and lubricants. They can be used for vermicomposting of more organic wastes and promotion of technologies like vermifiltration of wastewater for re-use of clean and nutritive water in farm irrigation and vermiremediation of chemically contaminated lands and soils on earth to make them usable and even fertile for farming. Earthworms are blessed by nature with the capacity to detoxify and disinfect any product – solid or liquid. They also have innate defense mechanisms and strong immune system. Vermicomposting is self-promoted, self-regulated, self-improved and self-enhanced, low or no-energy requiring zero-waste technology, easy to construct, operate and maintain.