Yes, Worms!

Also new this year: a worm farm, or vermiculture. Red worms are able to eat kitchen wastes and produce from it excellent quality compost, so they reduce the amount of wastes going into the garbage can or down the garbage disposal, as well as making my garden richer and more productive.

Maybe a little disgusting, but they are tiny little workhorses of productivity for the garden.

This is a simple $6 plastic bin from Home Depot, with small holes drilled in it for ventilation. Add dampened strips of newspapers for bedding and some kitchen scraps. They like all kinds of garbage, but don't feed them meat or dairy products, or citrus. They particularly love coffee grounds -- including the paper filter -- which is good news since we love our coffee.