If you're managing a worm farm, you've probably wondered at some point, "Do worms eat paper?" The short answer is yes! Worms happily consume paper, but the real benefit goes beyond feeding them, it provides bedding material and is a carbon source for your worms. Although it is not a structured carbon source (e.g. dead, crunchy leaves), it can give your worm farm a balancing boost if too much nitrogen goes in. Even better, using paper in your worm farm helps manage the waste stream, reducing the large amount of paper waste, around 400 million tonnes annually, that would otherwise end up in landfills.
Why Use Paper in Worm Farms?
Carbon–Nitrogen Balance
Worms require a good carbon:nitrogen balance, so adding paper is a great way of keeping up your carbon input. Not only does it help keep your carbon:nitrogen balance in check, excess inputs act as a great bedding source for your worms, plus it’s a fantastic sustainable way of managing your paper waste!
Research reinforces this need for carbon-rich inputs. For instance, one study feeding different diets (including paper-only) to composting worms noted that an ideal C:N ratio is around 25:1 for comfortable worm processing (Lofton, 2020).
We even recommend a ratio closer to 50:1 for vermicomposting – roughly equal volumes of “green” inputs and “brown” inputs. This keeps conditions balanced (not too acidic) and ensures the worms have a consistent supply of both nutrients and digestible fibre.
Think Beyond Food Scraps
When people think of what can be composted through a worm farm they often think of kitchen scraps; not only can you compost so much more than that, a diversity of inputs will ensure your worm farm is thriving.
Worms love paper because it’s not just food – it’s habitat. In a well-managed worm farm, the shredded paper serves as bedding that the worms live in and slowly consume. This bedding provides:
Moisture retention
Paper absorbs water like a sponge. A layer of damp (make sure you’ve moistened it before it goes in!) shredded newspaper that is mixed into the top layer of bedding keeps the worm farm moist without waterlogging. This is vital because worms breathe through their skin and need a moist environment for oxygen exchange. If the environment dries out, they can’t breathe; if it’s too wet, they can drown or suffocate due to lack of air. (Hamilton, 2017)
Aeration
Crumpled or shredded paper mixed in with crunchy, dead leaves creates tiny air pockets in the bedding. Good airflow means oxygen is available to the worms and aerobic microbes. Worm composting is an aerobic process – your worms and beneficial microbes need oxygen to break down waste. The worms naturally tunnel through bedding, but paper and leaves helps by not compacting too much. With plenty of paper, leaves, and hay your worm farm is far less likely to go anaerobic (which causes rotten smells).
pH buffering
Most paper is close to neutral pH or slightly alkaline. In fact, modern office papers often contain calcium carbonate as a filler, which can neutralise excess acidity in the farm (Tengku Yasim-Anuar et al., 2021). If your worm farm suffers from acidity due to lots of fruit scraps, adding paper may help balance it out.
But it’s not only shredded paper your worms will love, they will enjoy many other forms of paper too. Chuck in your paper towels, paper packaging, cardboard, toilet rolls etc.
Carbon and nitrogen toilet paper 'cannolis'
Shred It Up! Size Matters
Reducing the size of your inputs (increasing the surface area) makes it easier for your worms to process, so shred, tear, mulch or rip up your paper inputs to increase your worm’s efficiency.
Don’t Forget to Moisten Your Paper
Make sure you moisten your paper before putting it in your worm farm (as with all your carbon inputs) to ensure it doesn’t dry out the environment. Worms require moist skin to allow dissolved oxygen to pass through into their bloodstream, so if the environment becomes too dry this can make it tricky for them to get sufficient oxygen..
Sustainability of Feeding Worms Paper
Using paper in your worm farm is a sustainable waste management practice. Instead of sending paper to landfill (where it would break down anaerobically and potentially produce methane), we’re recycling it on our farm. The worms turn shredded office documents, cardboard boxes, and newspapers into vermicast: a rich organic fertiliser. It’s a win-win: you dispose of paper waste responsibly and get free soil conditioner in return. With global paper consumption around 400 million tonnes per year (Tengku Yasim-Anuar et al., 2021), every bit of paper you vermicompost helps reduce landfill burden and closes the loop in your system.
Watch How to Prepare your Paper
This quick video goes through how to appropriately prepare paper for your worm farm here.
References
Lofton, K. (2020). Influence of diet of the red wiggler earthworm (Eisenia fetida) on nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (NPK) nutrients, organic matter, and carbon:nitrogen (C:N) ratio within the vermicompost casts.
Hamilton, D. (2017). The Basics of Vermicomposting
https://extension.okstate.edu/fact-sheets/the-basics-of-vermicomposting.html
Tengku Yasim-Anuar, T. A., Chubo, J. K., & Mohd. Top @ Mohd. Tahc, M. (2021). Paper Wastes as Beddings in Vermicompost Production. Borneo Science Journal, 42(2). https://doi.org/10.51200/bsj.v42i2.4469