Web-Resol Tudo sobre Limpeza Urbana e Resíduos Sólidos!
The Western Mail reports that Welsh entrepreneurs have pioneered a way to turn biodegradable household waste into an “aphrodisiac for plants”, using 32 million “workers”. With the help of millions of worms, the transformation from rubbish to fertiliser takes less than two weeks, and the company has won cash backing from the National Assembly to develop the process.
Pioneered by John Winslow and Malcolm Rich of Brecon-based VitalEarth Group, the scheme not only helps tackle the massive problem of what to do with the rubbish, but produces a natural plant food which makes a dramatic difference to plant growth, appearance and disease resistance, according to experts. The fledgling company, assisted by business support specialists Entrepreneur Action, has won a £175,000 Regional Selective Assistance grant from the Assembly to help establish three sites operated by council rubbish disposal contractors LAS Waste. The sites, at Lampeter, Pembroke Dock and Johnstown, near Carmarthen, will eventually employ 25 people.
They have also lodged planning and licensing applications for several sites in England. Wales produces 1.5 million tonnes of domestic waste a year, much of it biodegradable. Currently, only 7% is recycled, but the mandatory target for the UK is 25% by 2005 – hence the recent speculation that householders may face a “black bin-bag” charge for rubbish collection.
With the support of the Welsh Development Agency, Mr Rich and Mr Winslow spent two years developing a computer controlled “Rapid In-Vessel Composting System”, which accelerates the normal decomposition process from around two months to just seven days [not sure about this claim – KS]. In full-scale production, the waste will then go through a vermistabilisation plant, where around 32 million worms will be introduced.
Tonnes of worm droppings, called casts, which contain hormones that stimulate plant growth, will be collected each day and marketed as “Vitalizer”, which is already proving popular with gardeners. The process has attracted widespread attention, with local authorities facing new waste recycling targets
Artigos Relacionados
Check Also
Waste management poses challenges, but could unlock major environmental and economic gains
Every day, the city of Rio de Janeiro, one of the largest metropolises in the Southern Hemisphere, generates 17,000 tonnes of waste, ranging from large industrial debris to candy wrappers bought innocently at newspaper stands. While this waste presents a serious and urgent environmental challenge, it also fuels an increasingly significant portion of the economy, with benefits extending beyond financial gains. - When we look at developed European countries, many are already recycling between 40% and 50%, with some reaching 60%. From an economic standpoint, both recyclable materials and organic waste hold tremendous value - stated Adalberto Maluf, National Secretary for Environment and Environmental Quality at the Ministry of the Environment (MMA), during the Methane Forum: Climate Emergency Brake, at the Rio Nature and Climate Week. Citing a 2025 report, Maluf mentioned that Brazil literally throws away R$27 billion annually, while municipalities spend significantly more - R$45 billion - managing all this waste, often overlooking the environmental impact or economic potential buried in landfills and dumps. - We spend R$45 billion to collect and dispose of waste in landfills, yet we manage to recycle less than a third of the potential. I believe it will be necessary to review contracts, create performance-based remuneration mechanisms, and pay for both effectively sorted materials and those diverted from landfills - he added. According to the IBGE, 60.5% of Brazilian municipalities adopt some form of selective waste collection, and several initiatives serve as examples of how to manage city waste. In his panel presentation, Bernardo Ornelas, Project Coordinator at the Rio de Janeiro Municipal Urban Cleaning Company (Comlurb), highlighted Ecoparque do Caju, a national benchmark in waste management and recycling. There, received materials are sorted and can be used for biogas production, organic compounds for urban gardens, or human consumption, in the case of still...