Vermicomposting of Organic Solid Waste with the E. Fetida in Different Bedding Materials (Case study: Jasla-E-Aleahmad vegetable and fruit market of Tehran at summer 2009)

Landfill and incineration are two common methods mostly used for disposal of huge quantities of solid wastes. The bioconversion ability of earthworms in vermicomposting process of organic waste in different types of bedding materials was investigated to produce more valuable products as an economical and effective alternate method for solid waste management. In this work organic waste (obtained from vegetable and fruit market of Tehran at summer 2009), Eisenia fetida species and three different bedding materials were used; (1) garden soils mixed with matured cow dung, (2) leaf litter from Sharif University campus and (3) machine shredded paper from Petroleum and Chemical Engineering Department Office. Vermicomposting produced vermicompost with about 50 percent reduction of total organic carbon content (out to CO2) and 100 to 500 percent (depending on the bedding type) increase of nitrogen (stabilize nitrogen air), potassium and phosphorous (change to available form) after 75 days of worms’ activity. Results have shown that vermicomposting can be applied as a suitable environmental friendly method for organic solid waste management.