In my quest to take the trash out less, I have tried a couple of methods. One was to eat everything in the kitchen. Another was to compost.

I went to a composting workshop at the University of Maryland, but I was interested in learning how to turn my trash into plant food, and the workshop was focused more on campus sustainability. I don’t live on campus because I am 27 years old (or 77 in undergrad years). So I pressed on.

I had a stroke of luck when my co-worker Meredith asked me to give a 10-gallon Rubbermaid tub packed full of worms and trash to a friend of hers. I thought that as a gift to be given in the spirit of friendship, this was an interesting choice.

As it turns out, the worms eat biodegradable matter and create poop. While this may not sound extraordinary, the worm doodies, or “castings,” can be used as superfood for plants. Ka-ching!

I further explored vermiculture yesterday by creating two worm bins with my dad. We ordered a 600-count bag of worms from Nature’s Good Guys and split them. Today is day one and I already woke up to a few escapees making their way out of the worm farm. I hope for Bill’s sake that mom doesn’t see any worms coming out of his bin at their home.