Traditional composting (thermo-philic) uses naturally-occurring heat to break down vegetable waste, paper products, and yard waste. But it also requires contact with the ground and its microbes, and a generous allowance of space and time.

Vermi-composting, however, is quicker and can be done on a smaller scale. Worms, such as red wigglers, process the waste into nutrient-dense worm casts for the soil.

“One of the main benefits of vermin-compost is that there is no amount of waste too small to get started,” explains Caitlin Hodges, Pennsylvania State University. “This makes vermin-composting especially attractive to apartment-dwellers who may not produce quite as much compostable waste as those with yards. Additionally, vermin-composting is much faster than thermo-philic composting in producing a soil-ready amendment (about a month versus 2-6 months).”

Hodges, herself an apartment-dweller, uses a small vermin-compost system. “Whichever method you chose, both thermo-philic compost and vermin-compost are great ways to reduce your waste output and create a great soil-improving amendment.”