Fat Worm Compost
The creators of Fat Worm, LLC recognize the need for a service that has not been available in the DC Metro area. In fact, it is barely available anywhere in the Eastern United States. So we created Washington’s Organic Recycling Mission (WORM). Our mission at Fat Worm, LLC is to contribute to the reduction of organic, compostable materials in our nation's landfills, which will lead to a decline in the production of methane and other greenhouse gasses that contribute to change in our Earth's climate, by collecting table scraps and other organic materials from residential and commercial locations to be taken to a composting facility and made into rich soil for farmers and gardeners to use.
HOW IT WORKS
We will provide each household, multi-unit building or commercial establishment with however many 5- or 35-gallon containers required for its needs. The 5-gallon buckets are made of high density plastic and come with a Gamma Seal® easy-open lid to keep odors and critters at bay. Customers who only require these buckets can line them with paper bags or compostable or biodegradable bags. Each week we will empty the 5-gallon bucket (however many days necessary) and wipe it clean. If a hose or jug of water is readily available, Fat Worm employees can also rinse out the bucket, if the customer desires. The 35-gallon containers are heavy plastic toters with wheels and lids. These containers are not emptied, but swapped out each week with a clean empty one and do not require liners. This is done however many days per week necessary for each customer. Rich compost soil is available in the Spring to interested customers who have been with us for at least six months.
We also do Special Events and Special Collection of yard debris and landscaping waste. For more information on those services, contact us.
WHAT CAN I PUT IN THE BIN
Anything organic, meaning anything derived from living organisms, can be discarded into the compost bin. For the most part, if it was once alive, it can be composted. You can even put bones and meats into the bin. Anything at all that was once alive or came from something that was once alive can go into the container. For more information see "Resources."
WHERE IT ALL GOES
Once we collect your compostable scraps, we will gather all the material together and take it to The Peninsula Compost Group in Wilmington, DE. This facility will compost your organic scraps and turn it into nutrient-rich soil and sell it to farmers and gardeners. This facility is about 100 miles from DC, however, we stock pile our material and make the trip only one or two times per month. This breaks down to 200 to 400 miles per month or 50 100 miles per week. Compare this to companies which take their material to a closer "facility" (which is usually a farm that does not have the same capacity as WORC) 15 to 30 miles away every workday of the week. They make the round trip of 30 to 60 miles per day or 150 to 300 miles per week or 3 times the amount we travel. We do take are collections to a facility that is farther away, however, the frequency of visits lowers our overall carbon footprint.