Turn Worm Poop into Cash
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Turn Worm Poop into Cash
By Stephen Bucaro
Two University students, Tom Szaky and Jon Beyer, entered their
"Worm Project" into a business plan contest at Princeton. The
project involved taking organic garbage from the dining halls at
Princeton University and feeding it to worms. The worms
processed the garbage into organic fertilizer for flowers, house
plants, and vegetables.
- Most fertilizer products available today use synthetic
chemicals which destroy the microbes that improve the soil and
promote plant growth. In addition, runoff from fields into water
supplies causes harm to the environment.
- The popularity of organically grown foods is growing. As a
result, more farms are using organic fertilizers. The USDA
projects that sales of organically grown food will be $20
billion this year and are expected to grow at an annual rate of
20 percent.
Szaky decided to drop out of school and dedicate his time to
turning the Worm Project into reality. His company TerraCycle
International Inc. www.terracycle.net signed contracts through
which it will receive 130 tons of organic garbage daily from
clients throughout northern New Jersey.
In his manufacturing process, the garbage is fed to millions of
red worms. The worms take about three weeks to turn the garbage
into solid worm poop. The worm poop is separated out, liquefied,
and put in bottles.
- The resulting product is superior to other brands on the
market because most fertilizer has had chemicals added.
TerraCycle's process is entirely organic, creating soil the same
way it's created in the forest.
Since the product became available in stores, about 15,000 units
have been sold. A 20-ounce bottle sells for $6.95. TerraCycle
now has 11 employees and expects revenues to reach $1 million in
its 2004-05 fiscal year.
Tom Szaky and Jon Beyer have created a brilliant "garage
operation" farming business using worms as their "live stock".
All you need is a source of organic garbage and you too can turn
worm poop into cash.
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