Waste Into Wealth

“Earthy” is how East alumnus Clint Dunn describes the smell. He’s referring to the 8-by-2 foot structure in his basement filled with worm poop. It’s his business. Vermicomposting, as it’s officially called, is a type of composting that uses worms to speed up and improve the process of breaking down food. The worms turn organic waste – like banana peels or carrot tops – into usable and healthy soil. Dunn and his partner, East alum Ivan Novikov, are planning on using these worms to turn waste into wealth.

Worm farming has actually been a dream of Dunn’s since high school. He’s now 20 and is finally the owner of a registered LLC: “Can of Worms Composting”. He got the idea for the farm after reading about one in a scientific magazine.

“I had always been interested in this idea ever since I was a sophomore or junior in high school,” Dunn said. “But I didn’t actually get it started until talking to Ivan over the summer.”

Throughout high school he tried starting a farm several times, but his plans always fell through due to a lack of time and organization. Then, before Dunn left for college at Hobart William Smith last summer, he and Novikov met for lunch. They had known each other since high school and Dunn knew Ivan would be interested in the possibility of doing something serious with the worms. Novikov was immediately hooked. He loved the idea of doing something that was both environmental and profitable.

“About 40 percent of our food gets thrown away,” Novikov said. “And I thought it would be a great idea to make money off of all that food that America throws away.”

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 13 percent of greenhouse gases are associated with food growth, distribution and waste. Dunn explained that by allowing worms to convert this to healthy soil, plant growth can be improved, landfills can be reduced and greenhouse gases can be reduced. He and Novikov want to make this difference themselves.

They decided to begin their first farm in a friend’s garage, but cold weather conditions caused them to relocate to a storage area in Dunn’s basement. The project first began with a lot of research. In order to get the best product, the boys needed to know as much as they could about how the actual process worked.

They soon discovered that there are three main steps involved in vermicomposting: Waste, Worm and Soil. The old food (Waste) is slowly eaten and later excreted (Worm), leaving behind compost (Soil) that is full of nutrients and healthy bacteria. This compost – essentially healthy worm poop – is what will be sold as a final product. Studies from Cornell University have shown that this vermicomposted soil can encourage plant growth, increase water retention and protect against plant disease. While Dunn is away at school, Novikov and Dunn’s family ensure that these three steps are followed.

“It’s pretty simple, we just put any food that we don’t eat into a bucket outside,” Clint’s sister, senior Kendall Dunn said. “The worms will eat pretty much anything that’s organic.”

Once a week, Novikov comes by the Dunn’s house to deposit the collected food waste into the farm. He also makes sure that the temperature stays between 60-80 degrees Fahrenheit and waters the top layer of newspaper that covers the compost. The rest is up to the worms.

The boys use a species called Esenia fetida – better known as Red Wigglers – that prefer to stay at or near the surface. Hundreds of them crawl upward as the new food waste is deposited into their bin. They eat this food and leave behind casts, which are excrement that are rich in nutrients and very beneficial to plant life. Novikov then collects these casts which will eventually be sold for use in gardens and other plant-friendly environments.

“This spring we are planning to sell to a retail market,” Dunn said. “But in the long run we are looking to sell to farmers and other things like that.”

Dunn and Novikov plan to release their vermicompost soil for the first time at East’s Earth Fair on March 28. Until then, they want to focus on proving the benefits of vermicomposting and improving their product to the best level possible through a series of lab tests and trials. Above all, they want their clients to understand that food waste is not only easy to recycle – it’s sustainable.