Page 65 - ingilizce

9. BENEFITS AND ECONOMIC RETURNS

9.1. Benefits

Vermicomposting has advantages at different levels. On the one hand, the benefit of applying
worm castings, or vermicompot, to arable land to increase its fertility is well known, since at

least ancient Egypt. Multiple studies show that worm castings have many beneficial properties:

➢ improves the composition of the soil, making it more spongy, aggregated and aerated,

in addition to making it permeable to water, while helping to retain it. Also, chemically,

vermicompost helps regulate, to a certain extent, an optimal pH for the plants.
Biologically, the bacterial abundance and diversity of soil enriched with humus are

easily verifiable. The increase in fertility of a soil supplemented with vermicompost is
evident, with virtually zero side effects.

➢ It is also shown that the components of the mature vermicompost help the growth of the
plants and their production. The acids, enzymes and hormones present in worm castings

are of great help for the development of crops, from germination to their adult stage.

Worm castings feed and make plants grow more vigorous, productive and resistant to
pests and inclement weather.

➢ As if that were not enough, there is no chemical fertilizer comparable in results to
vermicompost, a completely natural product, which reduces the possibility of harmful

effects on health.Vermicomposting even helps in the elimination or degradation of

chemicals, toxins or contamination existing in the waste that is fed to the worms.

On the other hand, vermicomposting is an activity that implies other indirect or less obvious

benefits:

➢ Its educational potential for children, young people and adults has been known and has

been applied for decades in educational systems. Conveniently introduced,

vermicomposting is a living experiment that promotes countless values such as caring
of fragile but fundamental living beings, the biological scientific aspects that it carries

with it, the maintenance of the ecosystem, the analysis of its results...
➢ Waste management has a considerable social impact. Composting and vermicomposting

are very welcome solutions for some of the problems of modern societies such as the
management of certain organic waste. Often the excess of organic “garbage” from the

individual or family level, to the communal level, in companies, schools, hospitals and

many other environments, can be remedied with composting systems. The investments

58