Young worm farmers reduce school waste

Raumati South School has installed six new worm farms thanks to a waste reduction grant from Kāpiti Coast District Council.

The school was awarded $2670 to buy six wheelie-bins, coir bedding and, of course, worms to populate the new habitat.

The resultant worm castings and ‘wee’ will be utilised in the school’s veggie garden with the excess being sold to the public. 

Teacher aide Diane Turner says that while waste reduction is taught in the classroom, having worm farms onsite encourages students to take practical skills home and into the community.
 
Before setting up the wheelie-bin worm farms the students had been using open bathtubs to process some of their food scraps, which attracted rodents.  The new set up is rodent-proof, easier to access and has much greater capacity. 

Over a school year, the worm farms will process 1.2 tonnes of food waste reducing the school’s annual greenhouse gas emissions by 520kg CO2-e.

Raumati South School was one of nine recipients of waste reduction grants from Council’s Community Education and Projects Contestable Fund in November 2011. 

The Fund was established by Council in 2010. Groups of five or more households, businesses, and other organisations can apply for up to $5,000 to assist with projects leading to long-term waste reduction on the Kāpiti Coast. 

The Fund is one of several mechanisms used by Council to distribute the district’s share of the National Waste Levy.

For more information contact: Simon Calcinai, Waste Minimisation & Services Officer, (04) 2964765 or simon.calcinai@kapiticoast.govt.nz