The Power of Worms

Over the past few weeks, State of the Plate has been offering bite-sized episodes of topics focused on Environmental Awareness. In this last installment in the series, hosts Rochelle Ripp Schnadt and Brandon Miller dive into an innovative technology that’s actually just worms doing their worm thing. It’s evidence nature itself could take care of some of agriculture’s biggest environmental challenges.

Steve Rowe, president and chairman of BioFiltro joined SOTP to talk about leveraging the natural process of vermifiltration or the use of worms to treat wastewater. Started in Santiago, Chile, BioFiltro now boasts over 200 installations in nine countries. Their systems vary in size—from small containers to vast worm beds covering acres—and are capable of handling everything from dairy manure to industrial wastewater.

Rowe says the treatment process is simple. BioFiltro installs beds filled with worms and woodchips. Worms burrow through the woodchips, naturally aerating the system and leaving behind trails of slime that are rich in active microbes. As wastewater travels through this rich bacterial community, the worm beds break down nutrients and filter out pollutants while mitigating methane.

The worm beds create a byproduct known as “vermicompost,” a mix of worm castings, degraded woodchips and active microbes. This material is harvested and used as an organic soil amendment, providing immense benefits to soil health, plant nutrition and overall agricultural yields. There is virtually no waste, making it a highly sustainable solution.

BioFiltro’s worms have proven effective in treating organic waste streams, human sanitation needs and industrial wastewater in food and beverage processing facilities, wineries, dairy farms and even in extreme environments like Antarctica. Now the company is exploring if worms can filter out harmful chemicals like PCBs and PFAS—so-called “forever chemicals” that are notoriously difficult to remove from the environment.

BioFiltro is checking all the boxes when it comes to sustainability: reducing methane emissions, improving soil health, recycling water and turning waste into valuable resources. As Rowe passionately shared, “This technology captures both my head and my heart,” and it’s easy to see why. It offers a real solution to some of the most pressing challenges in agriculture while creating opportunities for farmers to thrive.

The company is eager to partner with co-ops, environmental groups and farmers interested in reducing their environmental impact. For more information, check out BioFiltro.com or catch Steve at the Sustainable Ag Summit in Minneapolis in November.

This wraps up SOTP’s series on Environmental Awareness. Be sure to check out previous podcasts in the series: Corn Utopia and Eat Beer. Listen anywhere you find your podcasts. Stay hungry!