BANGOR DAILY NEWS • May 22, 2023
Melodie Kennedy, 59, who lost her job as a customer service technician at an industrial equipment company in November, needed something new to do. She ran across worms, which can grow up to 4 inches in length, on the internet. She ordered thousands. She soon saw how they noshed on discarded banana peels and watermelon rinds. Within a few weeks, the food waste they eat will break down into castings, or poop, that fertilize plants. Kennedy launched her Topsham-based business Friday at ClimateWork Maine’s inaugural economy and climate change conference. Kennedy plans to sell the fertilizer in two forms. One is as finely ground castings resembling coffee grounds that purchasers can dilute and steep in water for 24 hours, then put into soil. The other is as a pre-mixed solution that she calls “worm casting tea.”