composting. Hartenstein and Hartenstein (1981)
reduced mean sludge volatile solids content by 9% in
4 weeks with E. fetidu which was approximately one
third more than the control. Neuhauser et al. (1988)
used E. fetidu to vermicompost sludge for 4 weeks
and achieved a reduction in the mean volatile solids
content of approximately 28% which was at least
twice that achieved for the control without worms.
The results obtained during this study support the
view that vermicomposting can accelerate organic
matter stabilisation compared to composting. It is
possible that an important factor in the enhancement
of stabilisation with vermicomposting was the lower
temperature vermicomposting regime compared to
composting. For example fungi, associated with the
decomposition of cellulose and lignin, are known
to favour the mesophilic, rather than the initial
thermophilic, phase of the composting process
(De Bertoldi et al., 1982)