ORLANDO, Fla. – An Orlando startup called Wriggle Brew is pioneering a unique approach to two major environmental problems: plastic pollution and fertilizer runoff.
Wriggle Brew organic fertilizer is ready to ship to customers. (WKMG-TV)
Founded by Sam Baker and his longtime friends and researchers, Wriggle Brew produces an organic fertilizer made from earthworm castings, the nutrient-rich manure of earthworms, while also developing a breakthrough method to break down plastic waste using bacteria and worms.
At the heart of Wriggle Brew’s process are earthworms, specifically red wiggler and blue Indian worms, which thrive in Florida’s climate.
Wriggle Brew uses worms to produce their organic fertilizer (WKMG-TV)
These worms consume organic food waste and, remarkably, can also process certain plastics after they have been pretreated.
“They reproduce extremely quickly,” said Baker. “They double in population every 60 days and can scale up from a single pallet to the size of a landfill.”
The worms produce castings, a natural fertilizer rich in humic and fulvic acids, which are essential compounds found in high-quality soil.
“Pound for pound, earthworm castings are the single best fertilizer on the planet,” Baker explained.
This organic fertilizer helps farmers reduce reliance on petrochemical-based fertilizers, which are costly and contribute to environmental issues like Florida’s notorious red tide algal blooms caused by fertilizer runoff.
Wriggle Brew’s innovation goes beyond composting food waste. The company discovered that bacteria living in the guts of earthworms have the natural ability to degrade certain plastics.
By superheating plastics in a process called pyrolysis, they convert plastic waste into an organic oil that bacteria can consume. The bacteria then break down microplastics and nanoplastics, converting them into biodegradable materials that worms can safely ingest.
Sam Baker demonstrates how plastics are heated in a kiln (WKMG-TV)
“We start with plastic bags or cut-up pieces of plastic, superheat them to about 500 degrees Celsius in a steel vessel, and produce an organic oil,” Baker said. “This oil has almost no traces of micro or nanoplastics left. The bacteria eat the oil and convert it into biodegradable material, which becomes food for the earthworms.”
The process eliminates toxic microplastics from the environment and transforms plastic waste into valuable fertilizer.
Baker said, independent lab tests confirmed that worm castings produced from this method contain no detectable micro- or nanoplastics, making the fertilizer safe for use in agriculture.
Wriggle Brew operate out of a small warehouse space in Orlando. (WKMG-TV)
Wriggle Brew’s operation is a blend of high-tech science and scrappy ingenuity. The team builds much of their equipment themselves, from water towers to hoists and filtration systems, to keep costs manageable as a startup. Their microbe lab grows and preserves the bacteria essential for breaking down plastics and enhancing the fertilizer.
The company bottles its liquid fertilizer, called Wriggle Brew, in various sizes for consumers and farms. Despite being a small business, the team handles everything from bottling to labeling and shipping.
“I’m the CEO, but today, I’m also the labeler, the dirt scooper, the carpenter, the plumber, and the forklift driver,” Baker joked.
Since its founding at the University of Central Florida, Wriggle Brew has grown steadily, fueled by grants including a recent $1.2 million award from the National Science Foundation. The funding has enabled the company to scale up plastic processing and expand production.
Wriggle Brew’s mission is to provide a sustainable alternative to chemical fertilizers and to permanently reduce plastic pollution. “There are billions of pounds of plastic floating around in the ocean, in our bodies, and on our food,” Baker said. “Something’s got to be done about it. Recycling isn’t a solution; it just cycles plastic. We want to put a permanent end to plastic.”
Wriggle Brew’s plastic recycling program is still in the testing phase but baker hopes to scale up production and offer product for sale soon.
With thousands of gallons of organic fertilizer shipped across multiple states and growing interest from farmers, Wriggle Brew is making strides toward a cleaner, greener future.
Wriggle Brew organic fertilizer and soils can be found in some Central Florida nurseries or ordered online
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