Monday November 23, 2009

Using worms to reduce organic waste

Stories by BAVANI M
Photos by Low Lay Phon

KUALA LUMPUR produces 3,500 tonnes of domestic and industrial waste per day. This could fill the Petronas Twin Towers up to a height of 11m.

Imagine, every 40 days KL-ites would be able to fill up both towers with waste.

If this picture is not scary enough, just think of all that waste rotting in our landfills and producing a toxic poisonous substance called leachate which will contaminate our rivers and seas.

Put to good use: Sooria with the worms that are used to compost organic waste.

Think about the greenhouse gas emissions such as nitric oxide and methane which is 21 times more potent that carbon dioxide.

Think about the RM140mil per year that the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) spends on our waste disposal. Money that Kuala Lumpur mayor Datuk Ahmad Fuad Ismail would like to put to better use like planting more trees and building more parks.

Dangerous: Gas and leachate seeping out from waste

So the next question is can something be done about KL’s garbage problem? The answer is yes and it is called vermicomposting.

For the uninitiated, vermicomposting is simply composting with worms or rather using worms to speed up decomposition to produce a richer end product called vermicompost. In other words. it is basically feeding your organic waste to the worms.

At work: A worker piling the waste for vermicomposting at a small farm.

“The current waste generated by an average household in KL has now reached 0.8 to 1.3kg per day. Out of the 3,500 tonnes of waste that end up in our landfill, at least 50% is organic waste.

“If that 50% can be taken out of the equation — not only will the lifespan of our landfills be extended, the amount of toxic and poisonous gasses released ito the atmosphere and rivers will also be reduced,” said chairman of the Solid Waste Management Committee Sooria Gandhi Rao.

The committee was set up under the Housing and Local Government Ministry’s Local Agenda 21 programme.

Sooria said the committee has embarked on a project to divert organic waste from entering the landfills which is treating organic waste via vermicomposting.

“The idea is to start with the hotels and complexes and eventually move to the masses. We want to work with the DBKL to solve the waste problem in the city in the most sustainable way possible,” said Sooria.

Apart from the environmental benefits, vermicomposting would also help the DBKL save millions in tipping fee (money paid to dispose waste) and by replacing conventional chemical fertilisers with organic vermicompost for DBKL’s usage in the nurseries, landscaping and vegetable planting project in housing areas.

“Being green is not about making a sacrifice; it is about making a change! This is the way to go. Vermicomposting is the most cost effective and natural way to dispose the city’s organic waste and it reiterates DBKL’s seriousness in tackling sustainable waste management,” added Sooria.