Waste management: what if earthworms became our best allies?

Waste management what if earthworms became our best allies

Comedians, entrepreneurs, conductors, roofers or even influencers, they are active in the fight against climate change. For L’Express, students from the Institut Pratique du journalisme Paris Dauphine set out to meet small and large players in climate action in France.

Welcoming worms into your living room: said like that, it doesn’t make you dream too much. However, they could well solve part of the problems related to our waste. Starting the January 1, 2024, the State obliges all communities to offer composting solutions to its constituents: peelings, paper handkerchiefs, cores and other eggshells must be sorted at source by all French people. An easier process when you have a garden than when you live in a building. There is a solution for city dwellers: vermicomposting, or compost by worms, which takes up little space and does not generate an odor. But where to dig up the famous earthworms, without spending around thirty euros in a fishing store? And above all, where to find the valuable advice needed for any launch?

David Regnier Garnelo has already asked himself these questions too. He, who had been practicing vermicomposting in Paris since 2007, moved to Nantes five years later, but could not take his precious little animals with him. Seeking to get new ones, David scours forums, associations and local self-help groups. “That’s when I noticed that there were lots of people trying to find worms near their homes, he explains, but it was not easy to put them in contact. He was also very difficult to find information on vermicomposting. So I hacked a little site…”. This small site has become the platform Plus2to, a benchmark in the world of vermicomposting. It looks like an interactive map: just enter a place in the search bar to see the donors of earthworms around you. In France or elsewhere: because there are more than 3,700 registered donors worldwide, and more than 55,000 people who have used the site to make requests.

Screenshot of the Plus2vers interactive map, listing nearby donors.

© / L’Express/IPJ/Clementine Michel

Tons of trash saved from the bin

We usually start with 250 grams of worms, which corresponds to a large handful. They are then placed on a litter made up of fresh waste and cardboard. It must be moist, well oxygenated and ventilated, and be at least 5 cm thick over the entire surface of the tray. The worms then eat on average half their weight each day. But before it can be digested, the added waste must first be pre-decomposed by the microorganisms present in the ecosystem. The amount of organic waste saved from the bin is substantial, around 40 kilos per person per year. It should be remembered that the contents of the garbage can of a Parisian household consists of nearly 22% of wet organic waste, i.e. between 50 and 70 kilos per inhabitant and per year.

David made his own calculations: “I made an estimate of the waste that could be transformed thanks to the worms exchanged on the site: I arrive at a total of 3,330 tons per year, or more than 9 tons per day, only with the verses exchanged on the platform!”. The purpose of the platform is not only to recover earthworms at a lower cost, but also to be guided, since the donors are people who have experience in vermicomposting. “By going to look at home, the person who does not know much about it will also get good advice from the neighbor, continues David. , that’s great.”

“It’s a virtuous circle”

This social value is added to the environmental value. Mounia Boukaria is a composter guide, a professional in the prevention and local management of bio-waste. For her, “it goes beyond donations, it’s a real social bond that we create. Neighbors are brought to meet, and then to transmit in turn, it’s a virtuous circle.” This Alsatian who has been practicing vermicomposting for almost 6 years has been able to provide worms, compost and advice to several applicants. “The idea is brilliant! We are in an approach that is much more in line with the fundamentals of the environmental field, in solidarity, generosity… And then it’s practical, just a few clicks are enough!”. And above all, the difference in the trash can is obvious, “reduced by more than a third” for Mounia. “In addition, we feed the earth, we give it life. It’s really essential.”

“Now it’s become a habit!”

Same story with Michel Abramov, who welcomes us to his apartment in the 10th arrondissement of Paris. He discovered vermicomposting a little over 5 years ago: “I am of Russian origin. Over there, in Russia, I liked gardening, working the land. Now here I have my plants, they are glad to have fertilizer.” It was a friend who introduced him to this method of composting, and introduced him to the Plus2vers site.

Michel cave vermicompost compost waste organic waste cardboard earthworms

In addition to the organic waste, Michel adds a bit of cardboard to feed his earthworms.

© / L’Express/IPJ/Clementine Michel

“At the beginning, I had not documented myself too much, so I did not worry too much about my verses, he confesses. And then gradually, I understood that it was necessary to put a little eggshells, card stock, do not put them in the sun….” To avoid exposing his earthworms to excessive heat, Michel placed his vermicomposter in the basement of the building. As we descend the spiral staircase, he continues: “At the beginning it was really a hobby, now it has become a habit!”. Her little boy Marc, who accompanies us, seems keenly interested in the earthworms which hurry to sink into the humus when Michel lifts the lid. The dad reveals that “sometimes, when they eat well, I’m downright short of waste! So I go and get some at the market, he confides with a broad smile. I have a special bucket for this waste that I fill every week, which must be 3 or 4 litres”. A problem partially solved since Michel received a second vermicomposter, sent by the town hall of the 10th arrondissement. Because local authorities are acting more and more to publicize this method of processing organic waste, with the deadline of January 1, 2024 fast approaching. “It is true that for the moment, it is not very well known, laments Michel. I find it a shame”. Some town halls offer vermicomposting kits, and there are also purchase subsidy systems from some communities. So if you want to reduce your waste, don’t hesitate any longer: adopt the earthworm!

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