Cape Town: Thousands of earthworms guzzle tons of scrap food left over from the tables of the rich and famous at South Africa's plush Mount Nelson hotel, quietly doing their bit to save the planet.
Cape Town's oldest and most famous hotel, a pink temple to pampering where visiting celebrities are welcomed by doormen in traditional colonial-era pith helmets, has its own worm farm to help slash waste and, ultimately, tackle climate change.
"This may seem simplistic but it was simply the right thing to do. We're taking responsibility and actually producing something of value out of the waste," said an employee of Mount Nelson, Sharon Baharavi.
The worms are kept out of sight of patrons enjoying the opulent surroundings and gourmet treats, but they bask in pampered luxury in a backroom a short slither from the presidential suite.
Up to nearly six inches long, the worms, commonly known as red wrigglers or tiger worms, are housed in specially designed crates and fed vegetable leftovers from the kitchen and pricey restaurant tables.
Their fluid excrement, or "worm tea," is carefully harvested and used as a prized fertilizer in the hotel's rolling gardens, where peacocks parade on manicured lawns. Their other by-product, vermicast, is a rich compost.
"They are a specific species. They love food. They love eating decomposing food and they are really good at it. They've got a ferocious appetite," said environmental activist Mary Murphy.
Murphy, one of the drivers of the project, said the potential of such projects was huge.
"If we think really big. If everybody took their organic waste and processed it through vermiculture or worm farms and we stopped organic waste going to landfill sites, it would have a dramatic impact on climate change,” she said.
"It's incredible. They reduce waste by 70 percent (and) there is no smell here," she said, wearing an "I dig worms" T-shirt and surrounded by thousands of the munching critters.
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