For those who want to be environmentally responsible, after you get a hybrid car, put solar panels on your roof and switch all your lightbulbs to CFLs, what else can you do? Get a worm farm.

A family friend got one recently in an effort to be green. I applaud his efforts.

Can you consider worms pets? They're slimy looking and don't like to be petted, but they do respond to food and you don't need to take them for a walk or feel bad when you go on vacation.

Worm bins or farms are self-contained microcosms of worms that produce vermicast, or worm poop, by eating vegetable and fruit cuttings. Vermicast, which is rich in nitrogen, bacteria and enzymes, is good for the soil. Since the worms eat food scraps, they help reduce the amount of trash going to the dump.

Mindy Jaffe started Waikiki Worm Co. five years ago, and in March, she opened a retail store on South King Street near McCully.

"Vermicomposting has been around since the 70s, but we were not doing it in Hawai'i," she says. "I am always looking for ways to recycle. I got a worm bin on the Internet, but since they can't send worms to Hawai'i, it took me a long time to find the right types of worms to use."

Tom Gibson, retail clerk at Waikiki Worm Co., says, "People who buy worm bins want to take action on being sustainable and are thinking about their carbon footprint."

According to Jaffe, "There are about 4,000 people in Hawai'i that do worm composting and that includes 106 schools. Hokulani Elementary fourth-graders have been vermicomposting the school's lunch scraps for the past year. And the culinary arts program at Kapi'olani Community College will be getting their large worm bin soon."

The worm bin starter, available at Waikiki Worm Co., is flower pot-size, but you can also buy the larger 5- and 10-gallon containers if you're truly gung-ho about composting. The cost of the pot-sized worm bin is about $65.

The batch of worms consists of a mixture of Perionyx excavatus or Indian blue worms and red wigglers, Eisenia fetida.

The worm bin is a finely tuned environment. The bedding is made of cellulose (cardboard and/or newspaper), which has all the microflora the worms need for a happy environment: a mixture of fungus, bacteria and other invertebrates.

On top of the bedding, people throw in their table scraps, which may consist of fruit and veggie cuttings and grains.

The top layer of the bin is made up of a loosely mushed-up moist paper blanket, which keeps the worms in the dark. Worms like eating in the dark and the darkness keeps the black soldier fly from laying eggs.

Every four months, you harvest the worm castings for your plants.

Do you form an attachment to your pet worms? Gibson says, "Some people feel lovingly toward them and enjoy caring for them." My friend (who wants to remain anonymous) actually buys bananas for them because he says they like eating them the best. I wonder how he knows they like bananas?

Jaffe says all are welcome to her store to learn about vermicomposting. For more information, please call 945-WORM (9676).

ADOPTABLES

MAX

TAG NO. 09-22740

Despite his lettuce breath, Max is one dapper dude.

SOPHIE

TAG NO. 09-20775

Black dogs may be the hardest to adopt, but Sophie's loving personality makes her the most desirable of all dogs.

SNOW

TAG NO. 09-22209

Hats off to Snow, who thinks you're just the sunshine she's been waiting for.

Animal lover Leslie Kawamoto has been with the Advertiser for 19 years, or 133 in dog years. Check out her blog at www.HonoluluAdvertiser.com/Blogs.
These animals already may have found homes. For directions, special events and to see more pets available for adoption, visit www.hawaiianhumane.org or call 946-2187. Call immediately to report lost or found animals, ext. 4.