Worm Works is one of the many gifts of Loudoun this holiday season. This is one story in a series of 31 that highlight #LoudounPossible opportunities in the county. Check back every day in December to learn more!

If Not You, Then Who? Advice From Worm Works Composting, A 2022 Loudoun Innovation Challenge Winner

Meet George Ardura, who has lived in Loudoun County for most of his life – except for his time at the University of Virginia, where he lived in the dorms with a giant box of worms.

The 1,000 Red Wiggler composting worms were an 18th birthday gift from his aunt, and got him on the road to thinking outside the box for eco-innovation.

In 2019, Ardura’s worms were a Social Entrepreneurship finalist and grant-winner in UVA’s Entrepreneurship Cup. In 2020, they joined the UVA Darden Graduate School of Business VentureLab Incubator Program, where Worm Works Composting was born.

“I spent the year mastering composting and vermicomposting, which means composting with worms,” Ardura explained. “I also took on our first commercial clients in Loudoun County. We started composting collected food waste on a farm in Purcellville and even became the composting contractor for a food waste collection company.”

Ardura rented booths at multiple Loudoun farmers markets, where he helped spread the word and grow his customer base. Needing to grow his operations, he heard from several customers and colleagues to apply for the 2022 Loudoun Innovation Challenge.

“We had been at the limit of our physical ability to take on more customers which held back not only our business but composting as a whole in our community,” he said. “What we needed was money to invest back into our business to upgrade our composting infrastructure and purchase our first purpose-built food waste collection vehicle.”

In October, Worm Works Composting was named not just the winner of the Loudoun Innovation Challenge’s Agri-Tech category, but also the People’s Choice award, fetching $35,000 in investment from the Loudoun Economic Development Authority.

“This opportunity could not have been better,” he said. “It not only equips us with the resources we need to expand the business, but also grows our community support and introduces us to many other business leaders in the community.”

Locating Worm Works Composting in Loudoun

Launching a business is never easy, especially when you live 100 miles away, are a full-time mechanical engineering student, are an intern with Rolls Royce, and are the engineering director for the youngest team in the American Solar Challenge.

Somehow, Ardura gets it all done – and it’s important that he builds Worm Works in Loudoun instead of someplace else.

“Loudoun County has been the perfect community to grow Worm Works. Loudoun has a storied agricultural history and a strong current community,” he said. “At the same time, the county is growing rapidly with many people moving here from communities that have already been composting.”

He added: “The prospects for the future of Worm Works and composting in the county are looking great, thanks almost entirely to this competition.”

The Loudoun Innovation Challenge not only offers financial benefit to its winners, but a platform for truly innovative companies to step out of the compost bin and into the limelight.

“It has been encouraging and humbling to feel the support of Loudoun County and the Economic Development Authority. It is motivating to know that we are not the only people who see the value in worms,” he quipped. “But seriously, this support has supercharged the work that we have been doing at Worm Works.”

In the short time since the competition, Worm Works has hired two new part-time workers and other team members have expanded their roles.

The $35,000 prize was reinvested to purchase a purpose-built food waste collection vehicle, opening the door to servicing larger businesses and HOAs.

But that’s just the beginning of Ardura’s vision for Worm Works in Loudoun. Follow his vision down the wormhole.

“It is long overdue for Loudoun County to adopt composting as its third waste management system, along with trash and recycling. I believe we are poised to lead this transition,” he said. “I am hoping to move fast in our expansion, to more families and to start composting for HOAs.

“From there, with further investment, we would love to work with the local government to:

• establish a county-wide composting service that would revolutionize our reliance on the landfill;
• improve our air by removing methane gas from rotting food waste;
• seismically improve Loudoun’s soil, ushering in more productive and environmentally friendly farming and gardening.”

The goal in the next five to 10 years is to offer composting services to all 150,000 households and 12,500 businesses in Loudoun County.

The Loudoun Innovation Challenge Experience

For someone who is still in college, Ardura has more experience with business pitch competitions than most entrepreneurs will ever have. He called the Loudoun Innovation Challenge application process “straightforward,” and “incredibly worth the process of applying.”

“Once we applied, we soon heard back that we were a finalist and I was put in touch with Danelle Hayer, who answered my endless questions and provided superb guidance through the entire process,” he said. “We felt well supported, and as though we had cheerleaders within the organization to encourage us to do our best.

“I would absolutely recommend any Loudoun County small business that is looking to grow to apply and see where it takes them. Without the Innovation Challenge, our business would be growing an order of magnitude slower than it currently is.

“The spirit of innovation is alive and well in Loudoun and we credit so much of our success to the people that make Loudoun, Loudoun!”

As Ardura reflected on the rapid transformation of Worm Works Composting from a cardboard box into a commercial enterprise, he can’t help but encourage others to do the same.

“When you see something wrong, you can’t rely on someone else to make it right. Instead, you have to do what you can to make it right,” he said, quoting Hillel the Elder: “If not you, then who? If not now, then when?”

He continued: “The world is wide, complex and diverse, so you don’t know what works until you give it a shot. Even if it doesn’t seem worthwhile – or seems gross, like 1,000 worms – give it an honest chance. You might be surprised where life takes you.”

To learn more about Worm Works Composting and the future of vermicomposting in Loudoun, check out their website today.

Thinking of starting or relocating your business in Loudoun County? We are a full-service economic development organization, dedicated to your #LoudounPossible business success. Working with us is like adding a team of no-cost specialists to your team, with expertise in the following areas:

• Site selection and real estate searches;
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• Networking, resource and industry introductions.

Contact Dave Diaz today to launch your #LoudounPossible journey.