April 23rd, 2008

The Straight Poop: TerraCycle Plant Foods

Posted by Jessica Jensen

I love to tinker in my garden, and I’m an especially big fan of this company TerraCycle and their gardening products. The reason for the title of this blog is that TerraCycle fertilizers are made from worm poop! The company also has some very interesting recycled packaging.  I had the good fortune to interview TerraCycle’s CEO, Tom Szaky, about chemical-free gardening and the TerraCycle story.

Q: What’s so wrong with using normal fertilizers? How much of it stays in the food we eat…and how dangerous are those chemicals?

A:  There is nothing wrong with using “normal” chemical fertilizers.  In fact, the plant roots will absorb the nutrients in the exact same chemical form whether the nutrients come from chemicals or the breakdown of complex organic molecules.  The food we eat is made up of the nutrients the roots take in and the conversion of CO2 to complex carbohydrates through photosynthesis.  So in that sense, whatever fertilizers a plant is provided with, some of them will always end up in the food we eat.  Because the plant manufactures the food we eat from the nutrients available to it, the type of fertilizer used has no inherent risks as far as the plant produce. 

However, if the fertilizer contains contaminants such as heavy metals, some plants concentrate these contaminants in various plant organs which could be dangerous.  This contamination is not limited to chemical fertilizers but can also occur in improperly produced or monitored organic fertilizers. The chemical fertilizers are “dangerous” only in that they are concentrated forms of plant nutrients their dissolution usually results in drastic pH conditions and shifts. 

Thus, high concentrations when applied to plants whether solid or liquid result in plant “burn” because the drastic pH conditions harms or kills the plant cells.  This same thing can happen with highly concentrated liquid fertilizers because all the nutrients are in a soluble form.  The big advantages to properly prepared organic fertilizers are primarily two-fold:  1) the nutrients exist in complex molecular form and are only released as they are broken down by the soil microorganisms (providing a long-term steady nutrient supply), 2) properly prepared organic fertilizers start out as whole plants and other organic matter; therefore, they contain all the nutrients that a plant needs.  Non-sterilized organic fertilizers also contain beneficial microorganisms that aid the plant in efficient uptake of available nutrients.

Q. How do I know if a fertilizer is safe? If it says “organic” am I good to go as a consumer?

A: All commercially available fertilizers must go through a registration process with each state having its own set of standards.  This should ensure that all commercially available fertilizers are safe to use according to their labeling — chemical or organic.  If a fertilizer is labeled as “organic” all that means is that the manufacturing process including the materials used to make the fertilizer fall under the legal definitions as to what can be used to manufacture an “organic” fertilizer.  These legal hurdles are there to protect the consumer and ensure the relative safety and effectiveness of the organic fertilizers.  With that said, the more complex organic molecules an organic fertilizer has the better it should be for the overall safety of use and health of the plant.

Q. What makes TerraCycle special? How is it made? Why is it safe?

A. TerraCycle is the world’s only product that is made from AND packaged in waste! The production of TerraCycle Plant Foods is actually consuming more waste then it produces. This is why our products have received the Zerofootprint Seal of Approval signifying that they have virtually no negative effect on the environment. TerraCycle is made by feeding thousands of tons of organic waste (food waste, paper waste and garden clippings) to millions of worms! The process of the worms composting uses no electricity and actually consumes carbon for the atmosphere, not to mention the thousands of tons of physical waste that are removed from landfills! Once the worm poop has been collected we liquefy the solid to make our fertilizers. The liquefaction process is also very energy efficient the mixture is mixed for 24 hours using a small air pump. Once liquefied the fertilizer are bottled into used soda bottles.

Q. How does TerraCycle as a company execute on a commitment to environmental sustainability?

A. More then just making eco-friendly products, TerraCycle maintains and operates a eco-friendly factory and office. 100% of our plastics are recycled, 100% of our paper is shredded and composted. The coolest aspect in my opinion is that we use office equipment that is also recycled. We buy our desks, chairs, room dividers, even our telephones, monitors and PCs from universities and larger corporations that are throwing them away. E-waste is a huge concern and we are proud to be doing our part to help combat it locally. In addition we of course do the simple things like using CFLs, always turning off the lights, using very little heat and AC except when direly necessary.

Q. What products are best for spring gardening? Any regional differences?

This is an all encompassing question which cannot be universally given an all encompassing answer.  Spring gardening can refer to vegetables, flowers, trees, shrubs, grasses, foliage plants - field grown or container grown, etc.  Each type of plant has it’s own special needs some of which is dependent upon what the gardener wants back from it.  For instance, a fertilizer that is great for grasses or foliar houseplants (high in nitrogen) would also produce gorgeous tomato plants with dark green beautiful foliage - but no tomatoes.  Thus the plant would be happy but not the gardener. 

Generally speaking, plants that are grown primarily for their foliage (e.g. foliage houseplants, grasses, herbs, leafy vegetables) do better if provided with a fertilizer that has a high nitrogen to phosphorous, potassium ratio.  Accordingly, most field grown plants do not require as much phosphorous as container grown plants because phosphorous is usually available to field grown plants but may be lacking in the potting mix used for container plants.  Plants grown for their fruit (e.g. tomatoes, peppers, squash, apples, eggplants) perform better if provided with a fertilizer that has a balanced nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium ratio (with the aforementioned container vs. field caveat).  These generalities are in most cases unaffected by regional location. 

However, the ideal way to garden is to take a soil sample to your local county extension office for testing.  The information you provide which includes garden location and planned usage (what will be grown) allows the extension service to provide you with a complete analysis and recommendations for fertilizers or other soil amendments that would give you the best results.  A good thing about the extension service recommendations is that they do not make specific fertilizer type recommendations but only content; therefore, you are free to choose whatever fertilizer will meet the recommendations.