In two weeks, they had moved into the entire tank and reduced the waste by more than 50%! They sure do work fast under the right conditions! As a result of the over use, I decided to close down the system for a month to give the worms time to catch up. The men and women’s bathrooms all go into the same tank by the way. On the men’s side the worms are working over time and compost every thing, including the bedding. The women’s side of the tank has too much input and the worms do not like a lot of urine, so they do not work over there as well. The other Clivus doesn’t get nearly the use and the worm population in that system has been slow to grow.

They have even converted a good layer of the bedding. One Clivus gets most of the attention and is working like crazy. The results were not totally the same for all three systems. The first stirring showed clumps of happy worms!! The second or third month revealed a large ball of young worms!! They kept on multiplying and I removed some and added them into the Clivus with the same results. With a large amount of input still going into this composter, I needed to stir every month. I won’t forget the feeling when they were delivered through the mail. I purchased a pound of Red Worms from Uncle Jim’s Worm Farm. I then added a thick layer of bedding (Pine shavings).ĭue to the amount of input the BioSun was ready for vermiculture before the Clivus. I installed an automatic irrigation system to add fresh water to keep the environment from drying out. I drilled holes in the front bulkhead to drain more liquid from the tank and installed an automatic pump out for liquid removal. Specifically, Red Worms ( Eisenia fetida).īefore the Clivus systems were ready for the introduction of the vermiculture, I modified the BioSun to be friendlier to vermiculture also. Part of the system, when it is fully functional, is the inclusion of vermiculture.

Being structurally different from the BioSun, keeping them aerobic would be easier. I was trained by the Clivus representative on how to maintain these systems. It included two Clivus composting systems. In 2012, we had a new LEED Platinum building added to our campus. I had to have the waste removed and start over every year. This did not work as it would fill up to capacity every year and become anoxic (it gets a lot of input!). I tried to keep it aerobic by stirring it four times a year and adding a good compost made up of wood chips aged to the point of being broken down about 70%. I was instructed on how it should function. When I started working here, it was brought to my attention that the composter was not properly maintained. The previous maintenance man put in the required mulch/wood chips of the time and then let it go. It is an Aquatic Environmental Research Campus located in Avondale, Pennsylvania.īeing an environmentally conscious organization, they had installed a BioSun composting toilet system prior to my hiring date. I got a “real job” in 2000 as a Facilities Technician – Maintenance Mechanic at Stroud Water Research Center. He seemed pretty passionate about what he was doing (and excited by the results from using composting worms), so I asked about the possibility of sharing his experience here on the blog. Back in November I was contacted by Will Milliken, the person in charge of some composting toilets at an aquatic research center.

Pin worms in human poop