Turn Worm Poop into Cash

Stephen Bucaro ----------------------------------------------------------
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Turn Worm Poop into Cash

By Stephen Bucaro

Two University students, Tom Szaky and Jon Beyer, entered
their "Worm Project" into a business plan contest at
Princeton. The project involved taking organic garbage from
the dining halls at Princeton University and feeding it to
worms. The worms processed the garbage into organic
fertilizer for flowers, house plants, and vegetables.

- Most fertilizer products available today use synthetic
chemicals which destroy the microbes that improve the soil
and promote plant growth. In addition, runoff from fields
into water supplies causes harm to the environment.

- The popularity of organically grown foods is growing. As
a result, more farms are using organic fertilizers. The
USDA projects that sales of organically grown food will be
$20 billion this year and are expected to grow at an annual
rate of 20 percent.

Szaky decided to drop out of school and dedicate his time
to turning the Worm Project into reality. His company
TerraCycle International Inc. www.terracycle.net signed
contracts through which it will receive 130 tons of organic
garbage daily from clients throughout northern New Jersey.

In his manufacturing process, the garbage is fed to
millions of red worms. The worms take about three weeks to
turn the garbage into solid worm poop. The worm poop is
separated out, liquefied, and put in bottles.

- The resulting product is superior to other brands on the
market because most fertilizer has had chemicals added.
TerraCycle's process is entirely organic, creating soil
the same way it's created in the forest.

Since the product became available in stores, about 15,000
units have been sold. A 20-ounce bottle sells for $6.95.
TerraCycle now has 11 employees and expects revenues to
reach $1 million in its 2004-05 fiscal year.

Tom Szaky and Jon Beyer have created a brilliant "garage
operation" farming business using worms as their "live
stock". All you need is a source of organic garbage and
you too can turn worm poop into cash.

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About the Author

Copyright(C) 2005 Bucaro TecHelp. To learn how to maintain
your computer and use it more effectively to design a Web
site and make money on the Web visit bucarotechelp.com
To subscribe to Bucaro TecHelp Newsletter visit
http://bucarotechelp.com/search/000800.asp