Virmicomposter

Vermicomposter Waste Treatment System

Kitset with pump or siphon dosing

Based on lightweight plastic components this new system eliminates many of the problems encountered with domestic waste disposal in rural or urban fringe areas and on difficult sites. Many problems, and much of the associated cost is linked to the weight of concrete tanks, up to 3000 kg and the heavy machinery required to lift them. The damage to the environment and the cost of rectifying, by turning it into garden, is always borne by the homeowner, but rarely considered to be part of the purchase price of the system.

The VERM Vermicomposter system assures passive treatment of all domestic wastes, and ecologically sound disposal into the environment using natural processes. The standard kit is capable of dealing with waste from a 3/4 bedroom home. Water conservation devices need to be fitted, but in rural areas relying on rainwater this is a real money-saver.

The VERM Vermicomposter deals with black water (toilet and kitchen waste) and grey water (washing and bathing) using a different process in the same tank. Black water is low volume - high concentration, and is dealt with by the vermicomposter. Worms do not thrive in the high volumes of, sometimes, hot water from the grey water side of your discharges. This water is contaminated soap scum, body fats, lint and hair, which clog conventional filters. Our process uses pine bark to filter the contaminants, and the soil and gravel layers promote treatment of the liquid through natural bacterial processes.

Wetland Services Ltd. supports all systems with a professional system design service, which provides a site evaluation, design and documentation for building consent approval, inspection and producer statement assuring code compliance when installed to our specifications. We provide expert guidance on the choice of system to meet individual property requirements and owners' preferences.

The Verm Tank has a capacity of 2,800 litre and has separate inlets for grey and black water.

This unit has a number of unique characteristics.

• Its lightweight eases access problems even where heavy machinery cannot be used. One unit has been installed on a beachfront property where there is only water access. Three people can manhandle the unit, so heavy lifting gear is not required.
• The vermicomposter separates black (toilet and kitchen) water from grey (washing and bathing) water, dealing with them by two separate processes. Black water is high concentration - low volume, ideally suited for the vermicomposting process. The compost worms in the system breed to consume whatever quantity of waste is fed to them, and thrive on kitchen scraps including grease, which is otherwise difficult to dispose of.
• The vermicomposter can be installed partly or completely above ground in a timber containment reducing the need for digging.
• Grey water is high volume with low concentrations of pollutants, but containing large quantities of lint, body hair and fat, which clog conventional filters. The unit uses a bark filter, which traps the pollutants as well as providing a habitat for the compost worms in the system.
• Because it is an aerobic system, generating virtually no odour, it can be installed underneath a house or deck, with the house plumbing separating the black and grey water, led straight to the unit. This can reduce the cost of plumbing because there is no need to lead all wastes to an outside wall and fit costly and messy grease traps.
• The worms reduce the volume of solid waste by 95% leaving valuable worm castings. These are extracted using a clean process at, say, 2- 3 year intervals, and are used as a valuable source of garden nutrients.
• The installer will need to supply the gravel and topsoil media needed inside the chamber, but local sources of these common materials will always be cheaper overall.

Concrete Tanks

In situations where access is readily available a conventional concrete tank can be used. The standard size is 2.700 x 1500 x 1700. The tank has two inspection covers over the vermicomposting chamber and the bark filter respectively. As with the plastic kitset tank there are separate inlets for the black and grey water.

This diagram shows the relationship between the VERM Vermicomposter and the other components of the system.

SDC Dosing Chamber

This chamber receives the treated liquids from the vermicomposter and automatically feeds a measured dose to the disposal field. The "Autoflow AF100" dosing siphon uses gravity so it needs no external power source.

The SDC Dosing Chamber fitted with the Autoflow Dosing Siphon ready to install.

• The SDC Dosing Chamber needs a minimum of 600mm fall to operate satisfactorily. If the land is flat, or the field position is above the chamber, a PDC Pumped Dosing Chamber must be used.
• The SDC Dosing Chamber is complete, requiring only local purchase of connecting Polyethylene pipe 50mm for the inlet and PVC pipe 80mm for the outlet to the field.
• They need minimal maintenance and the working parts are accessed through a wide screw cap.
• The use of a dosing chamber to disperse effluent into a well designed disposal field ensures complete filling of the field lines and even dispersal, thereby eliminating the problem of "creeping" field failure due to algal blockage.

LPP Field Kit

The LPP field kit provides for shallow "low pressure pipe" disposal of effluent into a prepared disposal field.

Dose loading at low rates into a field of approximately 150 m² optimises treatment of pathogens by natural bacterial soil process and soil dwellers such as worm and slaters. Nutrient uptake by selected plants and water removal by evapo-transpiration reduces the problem of ground water contamination.

The Wetlands LPP Kit contains all the fittings needed to assemble and install the LPP Field, together with comprehensive instructions on soil preparation and planting. The PVC pipe (32 and 50 mm) is not included because the cost of transporting 6 metre lengths favours local purchase.

The disposal field can be laid out in planted wood-lots, sub-tropical orchards, or natural bush, or incorporated in a garden. Your preferences are taken into account at the design stage. We take all care to fit the system into the natural landscape.