Earth to table and back again: Compost Awareness Week

Did you know that almost half of the contents in the average Boroondara residential waste bin can be diverted from landfill by composting? 

Compost is decomposed organic materials and is a rich fertiliser for growing healthy vegetables and plants.

As part of International Compost Awareness Week (6–12 May) we are encouraging residents to compost their organic waste to help ensure a healthy, sustainable environment for generations to come. 

There are many benefits to composting your household green waste and getting started is simple.

Composting your organic waste has a range of benefits for your backyard and the wider environment.

Compost is great for soil – it can improve stability, moisture retention and drainage and allows us to return nutrients and microbes back into the soil. This reduces the need for chemical fertilisers in your garden.

Are you concerned about your carbon footprint? By composting your organic waste you can keep items from going to landfill where they are likely to release methane, a harmful greenhouse gas.

Composting requires minimal time and effort once you’ve got your bin set up properly.

Boroondara residents can purchase compost bins and worm farms at a discounted price through Compost Revolution.

Their website also has quick tutorials on composting and worm farming to help you get started and Cleanup Australia provides a list of the materials that can be placed on your compost heap.

Costa Georgiadis, the host of ABC’s Gardening Australia, also has some troubleshooting tips if you find your compost is slow to break down, smells rather unpleasant or is covered in flies.

As part of our Revised Council Plan 2017-21 we are investigating a food organics collection service which could potentially divert up to 19,000 tonnes of organic waste from landfill.

This is a key action towards reducing waste going to landfill as identified in our Waste Minimisation and Recycling Strategy 2017.

If you have questions about how to get started with composting contact our environmental sustainability team at [email protected]