Behind the scene
What is Jersey Worms all about?
The worms are eating day in and day out here at Jersey Worms. Compost scraps from three local stores go into the bins weekly for the worms. Food scraps, cardboard, and old newspapers are just some of the numerous things the worms chow down on. Over 100 pounds of scraps are prevented from going to the landfill each week due to our worm composting.Our mission is to show the world the power of vermicomposting. Worms have a great impact on our lives and the environment, believe it or not. Below our feet, worms are one of the greatest composters.
I want to educate people on the different used that worms have to offer. I would also like to reduce the reusable material thrown away into landfills. Items such as food scraps, cardboard, and newspaper, are just some of the delicious treats that worms eat.
Hi, I'm Gavin Ciccia. I started Jersey Worms in October of 2013. Currently, I own and operate the farm. I enjoy fishing, sports, and operating my small business.
Where Jersey Worms Began
Jersey Worms was not intended to be a business. I originally purchased worms to breed for fishing. My father and I were spending copious amounts of money at Walmart or the local convince store buying worms every few days to feed my brother and I's fishing addiction.
One day my dad brought up the idea to raise my own worms! And so the quest to learn how to grow my own worms began.
October 13th my worms arrived and the rest was history. I was 15. I began in the basement of my parents house. I operated out of a spare room that we used as a storage/work space for tools etc.
Pictured is a photo of the racks that I designed and built to hold worms. I found several systems online, studied them and looked for similarities. At 15, I was also "Balling on a budget" so I had to keep it cheap... REAL CHEAP.
In the photo is actually the last design I had before I moved to the warehouse.
August 14, 2017 I moved into my warehouse. By this point I had gone from just breeding/selling European Night Crawlers to Super Worms, Dubia Roaches, Meal Worms, and more.
What's in Store for the Future?
What does this mean?
I personally feel that businesses are looking to make money at the expense of the Earth. They are creating a product but not realizing how much waste is created by each individual product.
With this in mind, I want to run an eco-friendly business that has little to no trash leaving through the doors. I would like to use less than one garbage bag a week. I am looking into finding ways to make my warehouse L.E.E.D. certified. (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design). I was inspired by a building on my county college campus. This building is extremely energy efficient and is gold standard certified.
I am also constantly looking to find ways to reuse, or compost EVERYTHING!
To achieve my goal of minimal garbage use, I look for ways to reuse what most people would throw out. For example, Styrofoam. When ordering new machinery or getting a shipment in general it comes with an influx of packing materials. Usually because the box is too big and the shipper needs to fill the space. I devoted a separate tub of meal worms to decompose these Styrofoam materials.
(More on this topic to come shortly - hopefully in a blog).
To aid in my help of reducing shipping waste, I reuse old newspapers and use a smaller box than most companies when possible.
These are just a few of the many ways I plan to make the most out of my eco-friendly business. I plan to share more of these energy-saving and cost-cutting ideas through my blog and YouTube channel.
