Vermicomposting process of mixed food waste and black soldier fly larvae composting residue by using eudrilus eugeniae

The composting process by utilizing Black Soldier Fly (BSF) Larvae has increasingly been carried out in practice. This is due to the high level of organic waste reduction and the rapid composting time. However, shorter duration of composting may limit the larvae ability to digest organic material containing a lot of cellulose materials, eventually generating BSF larvae residues. These waste residues can be potentially further reduced by vermicomposting applying E. eugeniae. In order to get more substrate, an amount of food waste was added in the vermicomposting process of the waste that had been pre-composted by BSF larvae. Therefore, the aims of this study were to determine the degradation level of BSF larvae composting residue mixed with food waste and to analyze the quality of the vermicompost produced. The experiment was carried out in duplicate for 60 days. The amount of worms added to the substrate and the composition of the substrate (i.e., food waste and BSF larvae residues) were evaluated and discussed. The results showed that the highest degradation rate was observed when applying the composition of the substrate 1:2 with 15 g worms/kg substrate. The reduction rate was 59.92% and vermicompost production was 75.47%. The best quality of vermicompost was achieved in the same composition but with 20 g worms/kg substrate. The results obtained were pH 7.7, temperature 26 ºC, moisture content 59.47%, organic C/N 15.35, and total C/ N 15.18.