Get Thee to a Wormery

If you’ve visited this site more than a handful of times, you probably know of my affection and appreciation for Portland. The progressive stance on reducing and recycling food waste there just plain puts me in a good mood.

Well, here’s the latest idea brewing in the Rose City: a collectively-operated worm composting operation. Yes, a Portland wormery.

Now, this is far from a reality. It’s currently a vision of Randy White, founder of Bright Neighbor, a community social networking site. But I love that the idea of sending food waste to a central wormery is being discussed in Portland.

I’d probably choose an anaerobic digestion plant over a wormery, but since the city hasn’t been able to find a site for a compost operation after years of searching, the odds are much better for a humble, humming vermiculture collective. It’d be much cheaper, too.
Whether or not his idea comes to fruition, we should thank White for bringing us this quote of gold, on the nutrient-rich nature of worm “casings.”

“They poop out treasure,” he said. “We need a more eco-friendly market substitute to replace petroleum-based fertilizer.”

Nuff said.