Worms deal to industrial waste in Taupō

Worms create vermicompost that enable plant roots to access deep leachate that would otherwise move into the lake. Photo / Rachel Canning

Worms may have been around for longer than the dinosaurs, however worm farms are a sophisticated and cost-effective way of dealing with domestic and industrial waste.

Vermicomposting company Mynoke have made Taupo their distribution centre for the North Island because they consider the Taupo community to be proactive and because of the central location for receiving industrial waste.

They have a building at Aratiatia Rd, and they also operate out of the Taupo District Council effluent disposal farm at View Rd.

Mynoke chairman Max Morley says the council is highly receptive to MyNoke initiatives because ultimately it results in solid waste product being diverted away from the landfill at the Broadlands Rd Resource Recovery Park.

MyNoke operations manager Dan Smith has the job of experimenting with new product waste streams to make them acceptable to worms. Photo / Rachel Canning

Applying vermicompost to land encourages deeper rooting of pasture and in turn this enables access to deep nutrient reserves that would otherwise become a source of deep leachate for Lake Taupo.

Max gave a presentation at the Lakes and Waterway Action Group meeting in June, and says capturing a source of nitrogen that would otherwise be outside the zone of roots is a concept that was well received by those who care about the water quality of Lake Taupo.

"Applying vermicompost to land used for agriculture or horticulture is the same as applying a soil conditioner with the nutrient value of fertilisers," says Max. "We process 100 per cent of the sewage sludge generated from the towns of Taupo and Turangi, that is 3000 tonnes of biosolids per annum, and it all gets turned into vermicast."

Research and development are an important component to the MyNoke operations, and Max says they are excited about new technology to collect food waste and packaging waste from commercial operations.

"When our new technology is ready, we are going to try it out in Taupo and this will be a New Zealand first — if not a worldwide first. The service will be offered to those generating food waste and packaging waste on an commercial scale, and this means waste that would have gone to the landfill will go to the vermicomposting worm farm."

Recently MyNoke calculated that the true cost of landfilling food waste is $600 per tonne, over the lifecycle of the landfill.

Max explains this calculation was done for a New Zealand client that is not a local authority, and diverting solid waste away from the Broadlands Rd Resource Recovery Park effectively extends the life of the landfill and reduces both environmental and financial costs.

Byproduct from milk processing and timber processing companies Miraka and Kinleith Mill is also another source of material for MyNoke, and Max says they are always experimenting to make a good blend that is acceptable to the worms.

"Carbon from byproduct generated from a pulp and paper mill, timber processing company or packaging waste mixes well with milk factory protein byproduct from Miraka and lake weed that is extremely high in nitrogen," says Max.

To date MyNoke have processed 15,000 tonnes of product at the View Rd land treatment site, and 230,000 tonnes in total across New Zealand. Max says that establishing their distribution centre in Taupo will result in two or three fulltime equivalent jobs.