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 www.terracycle.net TerraCycle International Inc.
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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