Tiffany Pegoda, owner of Zia Waste, will host a grand opening for her business 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 27 during the annual Earth Day Festival. Photo by Kirsten Laskey/ladailypost.com

Tiffany Pegoda, owner of Zia Waste in Los Alamos, held up completely blackened and rather soggy looking banana peel. The decaying peel hosted a large crowd of Red Wriggler worms, which squirmed and dangled from its surface. Some might scrunch their nose at the sight but something miraculous was occurring. These worms are natural recyclers and can make a big impact on people’s trash and gardens.

Pegoda started vermicomposting as a hobby three years ago and has had a long career in the recycling business. Previously, Pegoda worked in the Los Alamos County Environmental Services Division as well as for South Central Solid Waste Authority in Las Cruces.

Her big passions are environmental sustainability and recycling and she said she told her husband that she needed to start her own business. Founding Zia Waste was the opportunity to combine these interests together.

Pegoda pointed out with China cutting back on the amount of recycling it will accept and other issues, the recycling industry faces an uncertain future. This led her to pursue zero waste, reduce consumption and limit what waste goes to the landfill.

A major portion of what ends up in the trash can is food. Pegoda said 40 percent of what Americans toss out is food.

With this in mind, Pegoda started Zia Waste. Her grand opening is 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., April 27 during the Pajarito Environmental Education Center’s Earth Day Festival. Pegoda encourages the community to check out her booth, which will be next to the Zero Waste Los Alamos booth at the festival.

Through her business, Pegoda can help people make a big change in the amount of stuff they throw away.

“If I can get other people interested in composting in their home, that overall will reduce food waste to the landfill,” she said. “Little changes will add to the biggest impact.”

It all starts with worms. Pegoda reveals there is more to these creatures than meets the eye. For instance, worms are the second oldest living animal in the world, she said, with Jellyfish being the oldest.

Additionally, worms are natural recyclers; as a result, Pegoda joked that they are her spirit animal. What they do, she said, is consume vegetables, fruits, as well as paper products such as cardboard. Then they excrete feces that is key to removing bad bacteria, pathogens and microbe organisms. Worms’ waste or castings are like natural Miracle-Gro. Pegoda said it can be mixed into soil or top soil, similar to fertilizer. Additionally, it can be gathered into a tea bag, submerged in water with some sugar and used as a pesticide spray on plants. 

“A worm under ideal circumstances can eat half its body weight in food a day,” Pegoda said.

As a result, if a household kept a pound of worms, they could divert up to a quarter pound of food scraps from going to the landfill daily.

Pegoda suggests performing a “waste audit” in one’s home to determine how many worms are needed. Then cut that number in half, Red Wigglers typically double their population within 90 days.

Through Zia Waste, people can purchase the worms and the bags to keep them in. Pegoda also sells castings and the natural pesticide.

To get her worm supply Pegoda is a member of the Worm Farming Alliance International Organization. She gets the critters from the Texas Worm Farm. Pegoda said the best ones are Red Wrigglers. She explained that this type of worm doesn’t “run away,” they stay on top of the soil, unlike European and African Nightcrawlers.

Additionally, Pegoda is a distributer of the Urban Worm Bag. These canvas zippered bags hold the food waste and allow the worms to feed and reproduce. Amazingly, there is no odor produced by these bags. In fact, Pegoda said she keeps them in her living room.

The worms are an easy method to reduce waste.

“Anybody can do this in their home, toolshed or backyard. Worms are very easy to care for and hard to kill,” Pegoda said, adding that the benefits they offer are huge.

People can divert 75 percent of their trash from going to the landfill by vermicomposting and recycling, Pegoda said, and worms can be miracle workers for a person’s garden. Using the castings in soil can increase plant root growth by 50 percent, which means they can yield more fruit or produce. Perennials are made stronger and the worms’ castings are great to use in potted plants, too. Pegoda said just two teaspoons can feed a houseplant for six months.

Her business hasn’t officially launched but Pegoda said she is already enjoying her new endeavor.

“It feels good to not be tied down to a 40-hour week normal job,” she said.

Owning a business has also made her braver, Pegoda said. Every challenge she has faced from picking the right logo to creating the perfect name has fallen into place.

“It just amazes me how everything comes together,” she said. “It’s not as scary as it sounds. I trust myself more.”

It also helps that Los Alamos already has an interest in recycling and being good stewards to the environment.

“Los Alamos was the first in the state to introduce the yard waste program,” Pegoda pointed out. “We’re already a green County. Vermicomposting is just another method in which we can lead the way.”

Vermicomposting is catching on in other parts of the state, too. Pegoda said Santa Fe County is conducting a pilot program with 35 households to test this type of composting.

For more information about Zia Waste, visit www.ziawaste.com or contact Pegoda at 505.695.0584 or email tpegoda@me.com.

These Red Wrigglers are natural-born recyclers. Photo by Kirsten Laskey/ladailypost.com

These worms enjoy an afternoon snack. Worms can potentially eat up to half their body weight in food. As a result, if a household keeps a pound of worms, they could divert up to a quarter pound of food scraps daily from the landfill. Photo by Kirsten Laskey/ladailypost.com

In addition to selling worms, Zia Waste offers ready-made natural pesticide and castings, which act as fertilizer for the garden. Photo by Kirsten Laskey/ladailypost.com