Comment Feeds

Business Plan and Carbon Calculation

mpickering — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 16:37:42 +0000

Hi Cathy - congrats on being in the top 20! Now we need to get more "down and dirty" regarding how this project will make money and save carbon. Could you please provide more info on:

Business Case: What are the upfront costs for your worm systems per unit and who pays? Are there any periodic maintenance costs? What is the going rate for "poo balls" and what is the expected sales income annually? How would these profits be allocated between your venture group (for expansion costs) and the community group? How would the product be marketed and distributed? Doyou have a list of community groups already keen to participate?

Regulatory: Are their any rules and regs that will impact where you can and can't set up your processors? Any real or perceived issues regarding smell and attracting vermin?

Carbon: what specific waste streams are you thinking of capturing - for these, is the waste you plan to divert now going into landfill, or being collected by the city's green bin program? Have you done any research on how many units of eC02 these organics will produce? If so, please share - this will be a critical evaluation component. Also remember to consider what carbon you may be consuming by transporting and distributing the final worm castings product to end users.

Congrats Cathy

MRBTravels — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 16:36:30 +0000

It's wonderful that you've been selected as a finalist. The education that you will be providing will expand and benefit so many that are currently unaware of the benefits.

re: Worms make great castings!

YUF CSA — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 02:51:14 +0000

I think the biggest strength and value of the proposal is the experience and expertise Cathy brings to the project. There are lots of existing worm composter designs and systems in place and even several DIY kits and templates available online.

Perhaps a training video, ongoing support, and worm bin checksups could be used as complimentary and/or value added services to ensure the project is self supporting (if it isn't already).

Worms make great castings!

YUF CSA — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 02:47:59 +0000

We are huge fans of worm composting and believe it to be a great way to create organic matter to add to urban gardens. I'm curious to hear what your payback period is for these units is. I'm thinking that if you can shorten the payback period, your clients can reinvest the savings into building additional bins and thus multiplying the emissions reduction potential.

Vermicomposting

Rebl — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 21:25:07 +0000

We all need to take stock of where our waste is going and protect our planet. This is an important step forward in reducing our trash. Let's get the votes in for this composting project!!!

Wiggle Room

jackofallshades — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 17:52:25 +0000

Cathy, congratulations on such a wonderful idea and implementation strategy. I know you will make a world of difference in TO!!

How much?

ebrian — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 14:44:30 +0000

What are the initial fees on getting / building one of these boxes?

Sustainability

Wormfan — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 14:13:22 +0000

The initial investment in Vermicomposting reaps multiple benefits: the diversion of food waste from landfills lengthens the viable usable life of those landfills so fewer new sites need to be established, allows fewer trucks on the road for transportation of waste poducts, thereby reducing emissions of greenhouse gasses from truck exhaust and the reduction of fossil fuel consumption by those trucks. Also the vermicomposting itself produces valuable compost material--fantastic, effective natural fertilizer, which can be marketed and sold to generate revenue. There is also intrinsic value in providing a means for people to "do their part" for the environment by diverting their compostable food waste from the landfill stream. This is especially true in situations, like office workplaces, where they formerly probably did not have control over how their waste was handled. Finally, as the vermicomposting sites continue to function and thrive, they will produce even more worms which could be used to establish more facilities near to the initial site, or again, could be maketed and sold as a valuable "green" comodity.

Congratulations Cathy on being a Finalist!

joanneburgess — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 13:56:45 +0000

Just think of the amount of garbage we would divert from landfill! The avg Canadian produces a tonne of waste each year. The impact would be huge and in return, the worm produces such a beautiful nitrogen rich fertilizer that could be used by so many residential/commercial organizations.

The fact that this is already working makes this proposal a no-brainer. VOTE 10!!! Good for you Cathy!