Wild about worms 
Informing community on recycling table scraps has become Glendale 14-year-old's passion. 
By MARIANNE LOVE

     GLENDALE -- Worms rule. If you're John Thomas, that is.
     When the 14-year-old Glendale resident and freshman at Flintridge Preparatory in La Canada Flintridge first learned landfills were rapidly filling up, he had an idea that has been growing ever since.

     "I thought, what could the average person do to save the landfills?" John said.

     His question turned into a school science-fair project about vermicomposting, a technique in which worms turn everyday food scraps into nutritious humus for plants.

     John went on to place fourth in the California State Science Fair competition.

     "I was extremely happy," the budding entrepreneur said. "L.A. is a hotbed for science fairs, and I was quite pleased with myself."

     In his research, John discovered nearly 60% of Glendale residents are apartment dwellers with no backyard grass clippings, little space and plenty of table scraps. He saw vermicomposting as a possible way for apartment dwellers and homeowners alike to get involved with recycling.

     "Vermicomposting is simple," John said. "It requires little space and it could conserve or save up to 17 % of the landfill space if everyone had worm bins."

     To further his cause, he developed a Web site, consults online and lectures on vermicomposting to classrooms and service organizations. So far, he has given away 30 composting bins, but that may soon come to a halt.

     "It's getting expensive," he said, adding he doesn't mind spending his money for his cause and sees his actions as a way to get the community involved.

     He finances the worm bins with his personal savings and money he makes selling novelty items online.
     "Last summer I worked at an international music camp at UCSB and also used that money," he said.

     When John isn't updating and consulting online, he plays tennis on his high-school team, stuffs envelopes and answer telephones at U.S. Congressman James Rogan's (R-Glendale) campaign headquarters or hangs out with his friends.

     "Someone looking at me on the outside wouldn't think I'm doing all of these things and that my scheduled is so packed," John said. "I look like a regular kid on the outside, but I care so much about vermicomposting, saving the landfills and the elderly on the inside."

     BIO BOX
     NAME: John Thomas
     AGE: 14
     SCHOOL: Freshman at Flintridge Preparatory School, La 
     Canada Flintridge
     PETS: Brenna, a 10-year-old Rottweiller
     HOBBIES: Computers, tennis, piano, drums
     FAVORITE COLOR: Blue
     FAVORITE MUSICAL GROUP: Sublime, an alternative 
     rock band
     WORM BINS
     WHAT: Vermicomposting bins
     WHERE: Homes and apartments
     EQUIPMENT: Homemade bins: $5
      Earthworms: $10 per pound
      Peat moss: $7 per1-cubic-foot bag
     WEB SITE: www.compostworld.com
 

Contact John:  wormboy@compostworld.com