Let’s celebrate national Compost Week

Published on 08 May 2020

One of the upsides of COVID-19 is that it has seen a lot of people spending more time in their gardens, so there’s no better way to celebrate Compost Week (4 – 9 May) than treating your garden to a load of compost or mulch.

Byron Shire Council is a proud producer of a high quality pasteurised garden organics mulch that is available for sale to the general public.

The mulch is available from the Byron Resource Recovery Centre at Myocum for $30 a cubic metre ( roughly a trailer load) – a reasonable price for an excellent gift for your garden.

Kate Akkerman, Council’s Waste Education Officer, said the compost is a great example of closing the loop on garden waste in the Byron Shire.

“The compost is made from garden waste that comes into the Resource Recovery Centre and we are taking more than 3,000 tonnes of branches, leaves and shrubs and turning it into pasteurised mulch,” Ms Akkerman said.

“We do this by first shredding the garden waste and then using our Mobile Aerated Floor technology, which is a series of movable pipes underneath the mulch piles, which aerates the mulch as it breaks down, and the  pasteurisation ensures that weeds and pathogens are killed off during the process.

“It takes about six to eight weeks to turn the green waste into a pasteurised mulch which is about half the time it would normally take for a conventional composting process, which reduces the energy and water use as well.

“Applying mulch significantly improves soil quality by increasing microbial activity,  assisting with weed and disease suppression, protecting against erosion and reducing soil water loss.”

“Our compost is super food for your soil and it’s available year round for home gardeners, landscaping businesses, farms and anything in between,” Ms Akkerman said.

“Compost week is a great reminder about the availability of mulch from the Byron Resource Recovery Centre,” she said.

Council’s pasteurised garden organics mulch  meets the Australian Standard for Compost, Soil Conditioners and Mulches (AS 4454 – 2012).

Bulk purchases are available at a reduced rate. Please contact the Resource Recovery Hotline for further information.

For media enquiries contact Kate Akkerman, Waste Education Officer, on 0438 678 454.