Worm Bins

Vermicomposting is an ancient waste management practice dating back at least as far as the Ancient Egyptians. Traditional methods of containing large numbers of earthworms in a small space in order to harness their digestive powers include the use of windrows, pails, drums, and wooden bins. All of these continue to be used today, but the current popularity of vermicomposting at home and at the office has been "fed" by a growing ecologic awareness and by the proliferation of affordable commercial systems advertised on the Worldwide Web.

According to Worm Digest (June 2003), the first plastic worm composting system was introduced to the North American Marketplace as a simple plastic bin in 1990. In 1993 the stacking tray system appeared first in Australia. Later still were the continuous flow through system designs, which were scaled-down versions of the large units developed in the UK for processing hundreds of pounds of organic wate per day. Finally came the lateral movement systems, which improved on home-built designs used by worm growers 20 years before. Examples of each of these systems can be found in the Wormpost Vermont catalog.

Points to consider when investing in a home-made or commercial vermicomposting system are:

  • Goals: Waste reduction or worm farming.
  • Weight/volume of kitchen scraps and other organic residuals to be digested on a regular basis? See Worm Bin Set Up for a formula to help you determine this.
  • Space available to house the unit.
  • Location: Will the system be housed indoors or outdoors? In a heated or unheated space?
    Unit weight and ease of mobility.
  • Time available for unit maintenance.
  • Aesthetics of the worm system.

Worm Bin Plans
Below are links to websites with plans to build your own worm bin.

 

Worm Bin Set Up | Worm Bin Maintenance | Harvesting the Worm Bin

Compost Organisms

Wormpost Vermont
161 Henway Road
Morristown, Vermont (VT) 05661
Phone: 802-888-4364
Email: worms@wormpost.com
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