Legislative worm project takes wrong turn

RALEIGH -- An experiment using worms to convert food waste from the Legislative Building cafeteria into compost took a wrong turn after just two weeks when the critters were accidentally cooked in their bin.

"It was just an unfortunate mistake," said Brian Rosa, a state environmental organic recycling specialist, said today.

The red wiggler worms were supposed to eat one-quarter of the cafeteria leftovers and excrete waste would be collected as compost for fertilizing plants, grass and other items around the Legislative Building, where the General Assembly meets.

But most of the estimated 50,000 worms died as temperatures climbed to more than 100 degrees in the bin where they were kept.

Rosa believes the high temperatures occurred because the material in which the worms lived inside the bin still contained organic materials that could be broken down by microorganisms in the food waste. That activity produces heat.

The temperature rose further when workers shifted the pile around to try to get air in the bin.

"That's how we have to look at it, as a learning experience," said Tony Goldman, the building's administrative services director. Hopefully, he added, "we've learned enough not to have it happen again."

Goldman intends Thursday to bring in another batch of worms _ about half the previous amount _ and start the process again. The first batch of worms cost $400, while the bin was about $5,000.

Senate leader Marc Basnight, D-Dare, asked administrators to test using worms instead of shipping 250 pounds of waste weekly to an outside compost operation as a way to save money and promote conservation at the Legislative Building.