Vermicomposting: How worms can reduce our waste - Matthew Ross

翻译人员: David Shi 校对人员: Yolanda Zhang

Think of all the food made in the world each year.

想象一下全世界每年生产的食物。

Hard to picture?

可能有点难吧？

Then, imagine that you are all of humanity,

那么就想象你就是整个人类，

and on a plate in front of you

在你的面前有一盘食物，

is the one lovely annual meal you make for yourself.

是你为自己准备的 一份可爱的年度大餐。

You did all sorts of work putting that meal on your table.

辛辛苦苦劳动了一年 才做出了眼前这一盘。

You must be eager to consume the fruits of your labor.

你一定急着想吃下你的劳动成果。

And the vegetables

有蔬菜，

and meats

肉类，

and waffles of your labor, too, right?

还有华夫饼，是不是？

Well, oddly enough, a third of that meal

但奇怪的是，那盘食物的三分之一

ends up in the trash.

都被倒进了垃圾桶。

A third of the food we eat globally,

全球消费的食物的三分之一，

an estimated 1.3 billion tons

大约13亿吨

ends up as waste.

都变成了垃圾。

All the work we put into producing that food is wasted.

我们所有投入生产这些食物的 劳动都被浪费掉了。

And what's worse, it costs us.

更糟糕的是，我们还要为此交费。

America alone spends an estimated

单是美国一个国家

165 billion dollars a year

一年就要花费1650亿美元

managing food waste.

来管理食品废物。

We're wasting food,

我们在浪费食物，

energy,

能源，

and money.

和金钱。

Perhaps worst of all,

也许最糟糕的是，

we're wasting the chance to change,

我们在浪费使我们的食品消费

to make the system of food consumption more efficient.

更加高效的变革的机会。

If you want to bring on that change,

如果你想带来一个变革，

you should know about a humble

那么你应该了解一个很低调，

yet diligent and ever-so-crucial ally:

但又很勤奋和关键的盟友：

the worm.

蠕虫。

Worms convert organic waste

蠕虫把有机垃圾

and other compostable products into natural fertilizers.

和其它可分解的东西转换成天然肥料。

Up to 75% of what we put in the waste stream

我们的垃圾中将近75%

can become food and bedding material

都可以成为蠕虫分解所需的

for vermicomposting.

食物和垫铺材料。

You can create a worm bin in your own home

你可以在家里做一个蠕虫箱，

to see the composting process in action.

来看分解是如何进行的。

First off, you need worms

首先你需要蠕虫，

and not your typical earthworms.

不过不是你常见的蚯蚓。

You need redworms,

你需要活赤虫。

eisenia foetida,

学名是eisenia foetida。

the species responsible for most

北美大部分的蠕虫分解

vermicomposting in North America.

都归功于它。

These red wigglers are surface dwellers

这些红的蠕动的东西生活在地面，

who don't burrow too deep,

它们不会钻得很深，

they're optimal feeders around room temperature,

它们最喜欢室温，

and they're well-suited to converting organic waste

很擅长把有机废物

into usable fertilizer.

转换成有用的肥料。

Now, your worms might be vermin,

不过虽然你的蠕虫能做分解,

but they need a comfortable space to live and work:

它们还是需要一个 舒适的环境来生活和工作:

some bedding materials,

包括一些垫铺材料，

either shredded paper or cardboard,

如碎的纸片或纸板，

some moisture,

以及一些水分，

and, of course, food,

当然还有食物，

mainly, your leftovers,

主要是你剩的食品，

slightly decomposed table scraps.

也就是你饭桌上有点变质了的饭菜。

The worms break down food waste

蠕虫将废弃食物和其它有机的东西

and other organic matter into castings,

分解为排泄物，

a fancy synonym for worm poop.

也就是蠕虫的大便。

Their excrement is absolutely teeming with microbes,

它们的大便充满了微生物，

which continue the decomposition process,

这些微生物继续分解，

making all those once-wasted nutrients

使得这些曾经被浪费掉的营养

available again as fertilizer.

再次成为有用的肥料。

The timeline for the whole process varies

这一整个过程所需时间

depending on the quantity of worms,

取决于蠕虫的数量，

the temperature,

温度，

and how much waste is added to the bin.

以及桶里有多少垃圾。

And there's another timeline to consider.

还有另外一个时间要考虑。

In a healthy worm-bin habitat,

在一个健康的蠕虫-分解桶的环境下,

worm reproduction will occur

当蠕虫性成熟后，

when the wigglers become sexually mature,

繁殖就会发生。

indicated by an elongation of the segments

它们身体的一部分

into a bulbous structure.

会变大。

Three-month old wigglers can produce

三个月大的蠕虫可以每个星期生产

two to three semi-translucent yellow worm cocoons a week.

两到三个半透明的黄色虫茧。

You thought only moths and butterflies

你以为只有飞蛾和蝴蝶

come out of cocoons?

会从茧里出来吧？

Well, we can't all be majestic.

当然我们都有错的时候。

It takes around 11 weeks for new babies to hatch.

小宝宝的孵化需要大约11个星期。

When your bin seems to be full of living vermicelli noodles,

当你的桶里装满了活的蠕虫面条时，

it's time to share the bounty with your friends

你就可以和你的朋友分享，

and start a vermicompost club.

并开启一个蠕虫分解俱乐部。

Or keep those worms to yourself

或者你自己留着这些蠕虫，

and start a business.

以便开始一个小生意。

Vermicomposting isn't confined

蠕虫分解并不只局限于

only to small worm bins,

小的蠕虫桶，

it's an emerging entrepreneurial enterprise.

它也是一个新兴的适合创业的行业。

Large-scale facilities convert

大型的设施可以将

bulk organic waste and even manure

大量的有机废物甚至排泄物

into rich, black castings called black gold.

转换成丰富的，黑色的东西， 也被称为黑色黄金。

Its value as a soil additive is unparalleled,

它作为土壤添加剂的价值 是无可比拟的。

and it can help plants resist harmful pathogens.

同时它还能帮助植物抵抗有害的病菌。

The lack of available land in urban environments,

城市里可耕种土地的匮乏，

coupled with growing interest in smaller-scale farming

加上越来越多对 小型农作物种植的市场需求，

means there is a market for vermicomposting.

将给蠕虫分解提供一个市场。

Many communities use composting

很多社区把蠕虫分解

as part of zero-waste strategies,

作为零废物策略的一个部分，

and they can sell their worm-eaten table scraps

他们可以将蠕虫分解过的残羹剩饭

to local farms, hungry for rich fertilizer.

卖给很需要高质肥料的当地农场。

So, instead of wasting money,

所以，我们不再需要浪费钱财

dumping wasted food in landfills,

将残羹剩饭倒在填埋场，

we can remake waste into an asset,

我们可以将废物转换为有用的财富，

putting it back into our food system

把它们重新投入到食物系统中，

to make it more sustainable,

使之更能可持续发展。

all with the help of the humble worm,

这都归结于低调的蠕虫的帮助，

the tiny organism that can help us

这些小小的生物体可以帮助我们

change the way we look at food's place in our lives

改变对食物在我们生活中，

and our place in the world,

以及我们在这个世界上 所扮演角色的看法。

as long as we give the little guy

只要我们给这些小家伙

在我们的饭桌上一个位置。

a place at our table.

Well, not an actual seat at the table.

当然并不是一个真正的座位。

A bin in the shed is fine.

一个垃圾桶就可以了。