Vermicomposting of Domestic Waste Using Eisenia Foetida Erathworm

Subject Areas : environmental management

Mohammad Ali Abduli ¹ , Mabubeh Hadipour ² , Mehdi Jalili Ghazizade ³ , Hossein Ali Asgharnia ⁴

1 - Professor, Faculty of Environment, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
2 - MSc Student, Faculty of Environment, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran. *(Corresponding Author)
3 - - Assistant Profesor, Environmental Sciences Research Institute, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran.
4 - Professor, Faculty of Paramedical, Babol Medical University, Iran.

Received: 2009-07-11 Accepted : 2009-10-07 Published : 2016-11-21

Keywords: Vermicompost, Earthworm, Eisenia foetida, Domestic waste,

Abstract :

Background: The high percentage of putrescible materials in generated waste in Iran, in one hand, and lack of proper lands for sanitary landfilling of waste (specially in the northern parts of the country), in the other hand, along with problems of collection, transportation and disposal of waste all make it necessary to think about vermicompost method as an efficient technique for disposal of organic waste. Method: The present study aims to investigate the degradation of domestic waste using specific earthworm ‘Eisenia foetida’. For this purpose, a wooden pilot including three floors was designed. Length, width and height of the pilot were 45, 25 and 65 cm respectively. Then 500 earthworms were collected manually and put on created media in the pilot. The domestic waste was added every week to the pilot, and after 60 days the compost was taken out. Finally, the important parameters in the produced compost were analyzed in the laboratory. Results: The result shows that providing proper situations like temperature range of 20-30 °C and moisture range of 60-75% and also appropriate aeration can lead to creation of a suitable place for the growth of earthworms and consequently conversion of organic wastes to rich compost. The ratio of C/N in the produced vermicompost was 14.53 (range of C/N is 10-20). Conclusion: One of the other advantages of this method is that it can also be used for increasing the earthworms as a food resource for domesticated animals and aquatic creatures. 

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