VERMICULTURE

BIOTECHNOLOGY
with People’s Initiative
for Efficient Solid Waste Management

Mrs. Aparna Inamdar, Vermiculture Consultant

Mumbai ( India), geosense2002@yahoo.co.in
Road side garbage heap - a common sight in mega cities!
 WASTE MANAGEMENT SCENARIO

Waste management done by Municipal corporations, Municipalities

and other local bodies.
 Waste transported to dumping sites in mixed form.
 Composition of the waste
-Biodegradables 45%
-Recyclables 20-25%
-Debris or inerts 30-35%
 PROBLEMS WITH SOLID WASTE
 Increasing population – Up to 60% garbage collected
 Higher cost of garbage transportation
 Rag pickers’ problem.
 Due to excessive plastic usage:
- Drain Choking
- Difficulty in plastic recycling
- Non-biodegradable
 Poisonous gasses from burning
Health Hazards: Mosquitoes, flies, pathogens, rats, viruses, dog
and cattle menace.
 Proximity to residential areas.
Less than 1% of bags are recycled. It cost more to recycle a
bag than to produce a new one.
“There's harsh economics behind bag recycling: It
costs $4,000 to process and recycle 1 ton of plastic
bags, which can then be sold on the commodities
market for $32”

- Jared Blumenfeld
(Director of San Francisco's Department of the Environment)
Bags find their way into the sea via drains and sewage pipes
 NEED FOR CHANGE WITH PEOPLE’S
PARTICIPATION – I

 Separation of garbage into:

- Bio-degradables (converted into useful soil conditioner)
- Recyclables (sent for recycling)

 Processing to be done at:

- Household level
- Housing Society level
- Ward level
 NEED FOR CHANGE WITH PEOPLE’S
PARTICIPATION – II

ADVANTAGES

 Saving up resources by recycling

 End inefficient ways of collecting and transporting garbage
Useful soil conditioner made out of bio-degradable reused / sold for self-
sustenance
 Fulfilling social obligation / responsibility
 TECHNOLOGY ALTERNATIVES

 Energy recovery:
- Refuse derived fuel pallets
- Biogas
- Biomass fuel
- Incineration

 Bio-energy for soil processes:

- Composting
- Organic manure
- Vermiculture
 KEY ASPECTS OF CITY WASTE
CHARACTERISTICS

 Quantity per capita waste in India is approximately 400-500 gms/day.

 Vegetarian population generating waste with 50-55% moisture,30-45%
fruit, vegetable, food biomass & 8-15% others.
 Indian waste has 2-4 times more food waste with low calorific value than
the west.
Most of the waste is soft succulent with calorific value of 800-1400
making it easy for bioconversion than power generation.
Highly putrefying biomass causing stink, diseases, harboring of insect
vectors, rodents, ground water contamination.
 VERMICULTURE BIOTECHNOLOGY

Processes all types of non-toxic organic waste using

earthworms.
 Extremely eco-friendly: No odour / pest problem.
 Needs minimum labor.
 Inexpensive.
Converts waste into best quality soil conditioner keeping plants
healthy in a natural way.
 ADVANTAGES OF VERMICULTURE
BIOTECHNOLOGY

 Harnesses atmospheric oxygen into the soil.

 Faster conversion due to utilization of nutrients by plants.
 Utilizes a wide variety of organics.
 Self regulated, self powered, self improved eco-system.
 Involves farming of beneficial micro-flora and culling of pathogens.
 EARTHWORMS AND SOIL HEALTH

EARTHWORMS

 Improve soil structure,

 Maintain pH and soil temperature,
 Make soil porous,
 Increase water retention capacity and water infiltration in soils,
 Enrich soils with nutrients.
PROCESSING METHODOLOGY

 Site selection and design

 Vermibed preparation
 Incubation
 Waste loading
 Harvesting of VERMICULTURE
Vermipit Design
Vermiprocessing at
Household level
Vermiculture in terrace gardens
Vermiculture in bins made of recycled tyres
 At residential
building level
(IIT Powai, Mumbai)

At housing
complex
(Hiranandani Gardens,
Powai, Mumbai)

In a residential lane
(Joshi lane, Ghatkopar, Mumbai)
Vermiculture in PWD colony
 Estate/farm
management
(Lonavala, Pune)

Ward level
Vermiprocessing
(Vikhroli, Mumbai)
Students of National College practicing
Vermiculture
Management of canteen
and garden waste in
Godrej company
(Vikhroli, Mumbai)
 Universal
Capsules Ltd.
(Dahanu)

Asahi Float Glass

(Taloja)
EARTHWORMS – OUR BEST FRIENDS
14
U. S. Bhawalkar (1995)
13

12
11

10
Optimum Fly Larvae
9
8
Optimum Earthworms Mosquitoes
7
6 Termites Cockroaches Flies
5 Red Worms
Rats, Ants
4 Pot Worms

3
2

20 40 60 80 100
PROBLEMS IN POPULARIZATION

 Non-visibility of earthworms.
 Low cost and no recurrent expenditure.
 No machinery and construction required.
 Market awareness not developed.
 Absence of standardization of products.
 No subsidy as on chemical fertilizers.
APPLICATIONS OF VERMICULTURE
BIOTECHNOLOGY

 Municipal solid waste management

 Processing of non-toxic solid and liquid waste
 Sustainable agriculture
 Waste land development
 Checking soil erosion
 SOME IMPORTANT FACTS

Maharashtra generates about 14,000 tons/day of waste by 30

million people living in urban and semiurban areas.
 Maharashtra requires 750 lakh metric tons of organic manure/ year.
 Supply of organic-manure is 5.11 lakh metric tons/ year.
THANKS!