THIS week is International Compost Awareness Week with the theme of Better Soil, Better Life, Better Future – and a team of hard workers from Warrior Disability Services (WDS) took the opportunity to learn all about compost.
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The participants are composting the food scraps they collect each week from Red Door Kitchen and the paper and coffee grounds collected from local businesses.
The resulting compost will be used on the vegetable garden at the Community Garden; while some of the food grown is donated back to Red Door Kitchen.
“The participants at WDS are learning so much about composting,” WDS’s director of participant services Sally Pereira said.
“Not only the steps to make compost but different ways we are recycling goods to help the environment.
“The participants are feeling like valued members of the community by being part of the garden and liaising with the local businesses for the materials to recycle on a weekly basis.
“We cannot wait to see the end product when the soil is ready.”
Currently, on average, a red-lidded general waste bin is made up of about 30 per cent food waste.
A lot of this could be composted.
Composting enriches the soil by helping to retain moisture and suppress plant diseases and pests.
It also reduces the need for chemical fertilizers and encourages the production of beneficial bacteria and fungi that break down organic matter.
“We want to encourage and help people in our community to compost,” Muswellbrook Shire Council’s sustainability officer Mick Brady said.
“This could be at home, at school, in a community facility or in a business. Reducing the amount of food waste that goes to our landfill will make a big difference.”
Later this year the Sustainability Hub will host activities where residents can learn more about composting.
Anyone interested in composting, gardening, growing plants and other sustainability related activities can contact Mick Brady on 6549 3794 or by emailing Sustainability@muswellbrook.nsw.gov.au