CRAMPTON BUILDINGS RESIDENTS COMMUNITY COMPOSTING PROJECT

This is a worm composting project (vermicomposting) undertaken by residents of flats in Crampton Buildings, Temple Bar, Dublin since 1998. A large wheelie bin was converted into a vermicomposter containing 25 Kilogram's of earthworms to process kitchen scraps and other suitable waste. After some time, a prototype composting unit was introduced, replacing the wheelie bin.

The project was started by a core group of the residents who were concerned about the amount of waste that was being generated in the locality by restaurants and high-rise buildings. Temple Bar is right in the centre of Dublin and a busy entertainment district with many restaurants. The residents decided to set up a pilot project to rmanage their own waste in a way that might be adopted later by the restaurants and other businesses in the area.

The community of 80 people was originally brought together by a campaign in 1998 to persuade Dublin Corporation to purchase the upper stories of the buildings and protect the community from unwelcome development. Around 10 to 15 households participate in the on-going scheme. The worms and technical advice were supplied by the Irish Earthworm Company, and the project was financed by Dublin Corporation.

The residents initially investigated different technologies which could be used to cope with the waste problem. Finally, they decided to install a wheelie bin with 25 Kilogrammes of worms and start feeding the worms with the organic waste. The worms must be fed at a steady rate and care must be taken to ensure that no unsuitable foods are included e.g. meat scraps. A group of three residents initially monitored bins, added shredded newspaper and cardboard (feed), agitated the compost regularly and co-ordinated the annual harvest of compost. As people have become more familiar with the concept, only one person is now required to watch the worms and they recruit volunteers from among the residents where necessary.

The project has been very effective for the residential community. The waste is disposed of with compost created as a useful by-product and is used on plants which residents grow in window boxes. Although the project acts as a potential model for restaurants, it has not been adopted by the neighbouring restaurants yet.

Key lessons from the business experience to date:

Participation rates might have been increased from the start if we had provided households with small kitchen caddies for collecting organic waste. As the flats have small kitchens, an extra bin for organic wastes takes up space making the project less attractive to some residents. The project started with a large wheelie bin but this proved too high to put material in (we had to stand on a table to put the food in) so this was later replaced by a better, customised vermicomposting unit (as seen in the photo).

We found it necessary to remind people, with fliers through the door, to keep supplying organic waste. We also only learnt over time the importance of monitoring the worm population. As the worms die, the waste volumes become too much for the remaining worms so the population has to be renewed.

This type of project is not the easiest to introduce into many modern flat/apartment environments due to the high turnover of tenants and the fact that social interaction between residents is often limited. Crampton Buildings benefited from the fact that there was high interaction between the residents due to their collective campaign targeted at Dublin Corporation. With this type of project, it appears that participation rates of 25-30 per cent of households should be considered successful.

The original plan was to develop detailed landscaping and horticultural proposals for the green area of the buildings to add a wider variety of plants, bird tables, window-boxes with herbs, outdoor seats/benches and a sandpit for smaller children. The group aims to include native varieties of herbs and other plants to encourage native wildlife back into an inner city urban environment. This would use the compost created by the vermicomposting scheme. Some of this work has already been carried out but more remains to be done.

The residents were able to source assistance and advice for the project. Worms and advice were supplied by the Irish Earthworm Company, and the project was financed by Dublin Corporation. The project is sustainable and does not require significant financial investment into the future. The Irish Earthworm company has offered to restock the wormery with new worms. The project won an ESB Community Environmental Award and received a grant from the Environmental Partnership Fund. We find that people and organisations are happy to support a successful project and sourcing additional funding has become easier.

The project provides a model for tenant participation in the maintenance of communal areas and waste management.

For additional information on the project: Sadhbh O'Neill, Former resident now Kilkenny County Council Environmental Awareness Officer 056-52699 and the case study prepared by her at http://www.ipcc.ie/cramptoncompost2.html email: sadhbh.oneill@kilkennycoco.ie

The resident co-ordinating the project at present is: