County shuts down woman’s thriving worm business for infuriating reason
“Whether or not it’s on the curb or in your house, if it’s trash, it’s the property of the Solid Waste Authority.”
By Tina Deines TCD November 26, 2023
Excerpt:
Mel Corichi originally founded her worm farm and community composting business, Let It Rot, in partnership with the Palm Beach County Food Bank in 2015 to reduce food waste.
She would feed the food bank’s expired donations to her worms. The worm droppings, or castings, would create fertile soil, which could be utilized as an eco-friendly fertilizer. This is known as vermicomposting.
Eventually, Corichi started serving local residents who could opt into her program. Corichi would pick the waste up at her customers’ properties.
That all recently came to a halt, however, when she received a phone call from the county’s Solid Waste Authority telling her that what she was doing was illegal. She was subsequently forced to close down operations.
She explained to Palm Beach Daily News, “Whether or not it’s on the curb or in your house, if it’s trash, it’s the property of the Solid Waste Authority.”
