I got worms

To compost, silly!

I never thought I would have a compost bin with worms…in my house, but here I am. I got into vermicomposting.

And yes, my house smells great, no issues there.

So, how did I get here?

• I was listening to a TV show (or maybe it was radio) and a guy was talking about his composting business. That guy's name is Akil and his business is called The Box Of Life. After having tried and failed at composting in this past, I thought using Akil's home worm studio would be a good reintroduction to composting.

• I also love plants, so the idea of turning my food scraps into compost to fertilize my budding home jungle was irresistible.

• Most kids eventually pester their caregivers for a companion animal, usually a cat or a dog. I get it, (some) dogs and cats are cute, but they are also costly. According to the Association des médecins vétérinaires du Québec, in 2021, the average cost of a small dog weighing around 15 pounds was $2,380 before taxes and that doesn’t include extras like grooming or training lessons. For an adult indoor cat, the total averages $2,019. So, I figured I would get ahead of the curve and give my child pet worms. This has been great! They are low maintenance, they compost our organic waste, and they have the wiggliest wiggles.

• I was also curious about creating compost. Would it work? The answer is yes.

How does it work?

• I built my own Box Of Life home worm studio using the company’s Do It Yourself (DIY) worm studio plan which they sell for $20 before tax. I didn’t have $200 to buy a premade studio, so the DIY plan was perfect. I was able to use up scrap materials, and I customized the box to my liking. It was also a fun activity to do with my little one – they enjoyed building their pet’s home.

• Once assembled, I added a mixture of moist bedding (aka shredded paper or cardboard), red wiggler worms, soil, and food scraps.

• Overtime, worms and other smaller organisms eat the scraps and leave behind solid fertilizer that can be harvested from the bin when it is ready.

How has composting changed me?

I learned about the importance of composting and soil.

• According to the United Nations, composting is a simple and impactful way to reduce emissions in our food system. When food is trapped in landfills, overtime, it decomposes and creates methane – a powerful greenhouse gas with at least 25 times the warming potential of carbon dioxide over a 100-year period. This is bad, really bad. According to Canada’s Greenhouse Gas Inventory, in 2020, “emissions from Canadian landfills account for 23% of national methane emissions”. This is why composting and diverting organic waste from landfills is so impactful – it avoids the generation of landfill methane. This is good, really good.

• As for soil, besides making beautiful landscapes possible and generating 95% of the food we eat, according to the Soil Conservation Council of Canada, a teaspoon of healthy soil contains more organisms than there are people on Earth. Sadly, soil is disappearing. From 1972 to 2011 Canada lost 3.9 million hectares of farm land, and soil erosion costs Canadians $3.1 billion annually. By creating compost, I am nourishing and creating healthy soil. So cool.

I eat more fruits, veggies, whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds.

• I started to eat more of what I could compost. So yah, I eat more plant-based meals which, compared to animal-based diets, produce less greenhouse gas emissions, use less energy, land, and water. I still eat meat from time to time, but I don’t neeeeed to have it.

I hold on to eggshells.

• The Box Of Life includes detailed instructions in their Worm Parenting Guide on how to care and feed the worms with the purchase of the DIY plan or the worm studio. That’s where I learned that worms love eggshells. When crushed, it helps balance the worm studio’s PH and acts as “grit” to help the worms digest their food. I’ve been including them in my worm bin ever since. Side note, if you have a toddler, they really enjoy using a mortar and pestle to crush the eggshells.

I sort my waste.

• I started sorting my waste to know what I could compost or repurpose. For instance, worms can compost paper and cardboard, so instead of putting it in the recycling bin, I shred them and use it as bedding in my worm studio. This matters because although we have a recycling program, it’s not efficient. According to the Government of Canada, only 9% (that's right 9%) of our waste is recycled while the rest ends up in landfills, are incinerated or make their way in the environment (aka litter). This experience has made me a more mindful consumer, it also shifted my perspective on what constitutes “waste”.

Worms aren’t so icky

• My kid loves holding them and watching them wiggle. They have lost their ick factor.

So yah, I got worms!

Reg wigglers to be exact. They are merrily chomping away at our food scraps and paper, entertaining our child, and creating fertilizer that I can share with my follow plant lovers.

I am happy that I am succeeding at composting, it was both an unplanned yet unavoidable step in my journey to become ecofriendly. I can’t wait to see what I do next!

References

1. The Box Of Life (n.d.). A Beautiful Way to Compost. Retrieved October 2, 2023, from https://www.theboxoflife.com/

2. De Lajartre, M. (2021, June 29). Considering becoming a pet owner? Read this first. CAP. Retrieved October 2, 2023, from https://www.cpacanada.ca/en/news/canada/2021-06-29-costs-pets

3. United Nations (n.d.). Your guide to climate action: Food. Retrieved October 2, 2023, from https://www.un.org/en/actnow/food

4. Compost Council of Canada (n.d.). How to Apply Compost. Retrieved October 2, 2023, from https://www.compost.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/COMPOST_DIRECTIONS_FOR_USE.pdf

5. Soil Conservation Council of Canada (n.d.). Get the dirt on soil. Retrieved October 2, 2023, from https://soilcc.ca

6. Government of Canada (2023, April 14). Plastic waste and pollution reduction. Retrieved June 1, 2023, from https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/managing-reducing-waste/reduce-plastic-waste.html

7. Environment and Climate Change Canada (2022, January 28). Food loss and waste. Government of Canada. Retrieved October 2, 2023, from https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/managing-reducing-waste/food-loss-waste.html

8. Environment and Climate Change Canada (2023, October 4). Waste and greenhouse gases: Canada’s actions. Government of Canada. Retrieved October 2, 2023, from https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/managing-reducing-waste/municipal-solid/waste-greenhouse-gases-canada-actions.html

9. Environment and Climate Change Canada (2023, September 21). Reducing methane emissions. Government of Canada. Retrieved October 17, 2023, from https://www.canada.ca/en/services/environment/weather/climatechange/climate-plan/reducing-methane-emissions.html