Innovative Companies | Energy & the Environment
Worm manure, known as castings, helps cannabis grow, the minds behind North Kingstown-based Earthly Solutions Inc. have discovered.
Frank Mastrobuono, co-founder, president and CEO of the company, tested his product out from his fifth-floor apartment in Boston.
An environmental scientist by training, Mastrobuono was studying for his MBA when he tackled the project. He started growing worms in a cabinet in Tupperware containers, and used them to reduce the organic waste he was throwing out. The product of the worms’ appetite has additional benefits, it turns out.
“We divert food waste from landfills by feeding it to certain types of worms to create worm castings, an all-natural form of high-quality fertilizer widely popular among cannabis growers,” said Mastrobuono. “Worm castings are valued not only because they contain a high density of nutrients vital for plant growth but they also contain an entire ecosystem of life beneficial to plants.”
As a result, worm castings are sought out by growers seeking to avoid the use of chemical fertilizers and are even a staple ingredient in most bagged soil mixes purchased at garden stores.
“Our worm castings sell for three times the price by volume as compared to the market leader and are able to command such a price because of their high quality, which derives in part from the worms’ diet of food waste,” he said.
Earthly’s approach allows cities to lower the cost of transporting food waste to large composting facilities while also keeping material out of landfills.
“We also are working to make an entirely new industry greener – cannabis presents a huge opportunity to set our best foot forward into new territory, so we’re passionate about advocating for more sustainable growing practices that enrich soil health and focus on closed-loop food production. We’re currently fundraising to develop the infrastructure to serve the New England cannabis industry as it begins to spread its roots,” Mastrobuono said.
