I believe black soldier fly larvae represent the most logical method for dealing with the constant stream of putrescent waste that humans create. Putrescent waste is anything that gets putrid (rots) and is mostly wasted food. BSF aren’t magic but it’s hard to imagine a much more efficient solution to a growing problem.
Bio-conversion
The process of feeding organic wastes to black soldier fly larvae is called bio-conversion. That’s because the process doesn’t exactly eliminate the garbage, it converts it into BSF larvae. Rotting garbage is a liability and BSF larvae are a valuable asset. You can read more about bio-conversion HERE.
Generally accepted data about black soldier flies and larvae
- They are not associated with the transmission of diseases.
- They don’t bite or sting and they avoid human habitats.
- Their presence in waste deters or even eliminates house fly reproduction in that waste.
- Larvae rapidly consume almost any organic waste except for high cellulose items like yard waste or paper.
- Larvae reduce the volume of household food waste by up to 95%.
- A 2 foot (60cm) container of larvae can process several pounds of household food waste in 24 hours.
- When larvae mature they will self harvest using a simple ramp system.
- Live larvae are very nutritious and are readily consumed by many different animals (pigs, chickens, reptiles, fish, etc).
- Meal made from dried larvae is roughly equal to Menhaden fish meal, a valuable and widely used ingredient in animal feeds.
The challenge
I’m making the claim that bio-conversion of putrescent waste with BSF larvae is the best possible method for processing putrescent waste. The challenge is simple, state any significant problem that might be caused by using BSF to convert our organic garbage into nutritious animal feed.
Let’s not wait
Burying our food waste in giant rotting mounds is ridiculous given the elegant solution represented by bio-conversion with black soldier fly larvae. The technology already exits and represents the essence of sustainablity. What in the world are we waiting for?blog, biopod, composter,
Comments 6
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Widespread adoption of BSFL as a means of dealing with human excrement in the developing world could conceivably save millions of lives per year. It could eliminate the flies and open sewers that spread disease largely to children. And it would provide an important source of protein for feeding chickens to improve the production of eggs and meat for human consumption.
This needn’t even require someone to collect the larvae as they could simply be dropped in a place where the chickens could self-feed.
And a well-designed unit could redirect urine which could be an important source of nitrogen in countries with poor soils.
Posted 18 Aug 2008 at 2:16 pm ¶What a great comment Michael. It’s nice to hear from someone who understands the potential that BSF represent. I’ll definitely check out the blog you mentioned.
Thank you!
Posted 18 Aug 2008 at 2:50 pm ¶I was googling ‘Black Soldier Fly’ and came across one site here (it’s a fly control company I think) - the picture doesn’t look very much like the BSF that one sees here… (shorter body?) so I’m a bit confused.
It does mention that the presence of BSF larvae seems to help reduce the numbers of ‘house fly’ larvae. But it also mentions something about the ‘manure’ being liquefied, except it doesn’t put it in such a positive light as Michael May put in his comment (and the comment made on the NYtimes blog site) since it says that it makes it ‘difficult to remove’ and ‘may block up walkways (in the poultry house”.
Any thoughts?
Posted 18 Aug 2008 at 10:37 pm ¶That is indeed the worst rendering of a black soldier fly I’ve seen to date.
It’s a common observation that BSF larvae liquefy manure as they process it, but if properly managed the benefits seem to outweigh the obstacles. The most significant point is that BSF limit the presence of disease carrying houseflies, and there are ways around the problem of liquefaction, at least on a commercial scale. Designs have been tested at both poultry and swine operations using BSF larvae to reduce manure with good results. I think the urine is separated from the manure to reduce liquefaction. There’s also the side benefit of harvesting the mature larvae and feeding them to the animals that created the manure. Here’s a link that I believe address some of these issues:
http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/waste_mgt/smithfield_projects/phase2report05/cd,web%20files/A2.pdf
Posted 18 Aug 2008 at 10:52 pm ¶Mosey,
From what I’ve read the liquefaction is largely caused by the presence of urine. At a blog called pond boss (I presume you’ve seen it) the person writing the thread on BSFL described his experiments feeding BSFL, including dry hog feed. While others have written in mentioning all the “worm tea” the BSFL produce, it’s clear that that is largely a factor of the water content of the food. The BSFL fed dry hog feed didn’t produce “tea”. Feces separated from urine, or a system which allows the liquids to drain out could provide a drier medium that wouldn’t lead to um turd soup.
Ideally, a BSF process for dealing with human excrement in the developing world would be more contained than the floor of a livestock pen. Unlike livestock, we try not to walk around in our own excrement. And we can control the moisture by adding fluffing material or removing the moisture.
I’ve not been able to locate any information on the use of BSFL in human excrement processing, but if a system could be developed and introduced to developing countries where sanitary standards are abysmal, this could be a good way to cut the volume of and problems associated with human waste. Admittedly, my comment is speculative, so if anyone has actual information, I’d be interested in seeing that.
Posted 18 Aug 2008 at 11:49 pm ¶Michael, the thread you mentioned from the Pond Boss forum was started by me when I first discovered BSF. I still post there regularly, but my main focus has become this blog.
You may find the following link interesting. It’s author is Dr. Olivier, the BioPod inventor.
http://www.esrint.com/pages/bioconversion.html
At very end of the page you will see a reference to urine diverting toilets. Dr. Olivier has worked with the governments of a few countries on programs that address the processing of human waste. I believe his position is that these developing countries don’t need to invest in an expensive sewer system like ours which mixes potable water with feces and urine. Instead a family could operate a BSF bio-conversion unit that would handle all putrescent waste and produce valuable larvae as a byproduct.
Posted 19 Aug 2008 at 12:20 am ¶Post a Comment