Also known as ‘garden gold’, compost is made from the breaking down of food and organic waste mixed with carbon, and helps our gardens and soil to retain water.
Composting in our homes is something we can all do to reduce the amount of waste we send to landfill each week.
When organic material is buried in landfill, the anaerobic conditions don’t allow air flow to properly break down the material, which slows the process down, and leads to the production of the greenhouse gas methane. Annually, more than three per cent of Australia’s total greenhouse gas emissions come from the organic matter in our landfills.
It can take one head of lettuce 25 years to properly break down in landfill.
Some 77 per cent of Campaspe Shire residents are eligible for a green bin, and of those eligible, 75 per cent have opted to have one as a part of their regular waste collection services.
For those who are not eligible, home composting is an option, either in traditional compost bins, or with worm farms and ‘bokashi’ bins, depending on the space available at your property.
Compost bins and piles
Compost bins and piles are “hot composting” systems that are good for large quantities of waste.
By layering “greens” in the form of nitrogen-rich garden and food waste, and “browns” in the form of carbon rich shredded newspaper, cardboard, or fallen leaves, the organic matter breaks down with healthy microbes and fungi, as well as the worms and insects living in your garden.
These layers of carbon, as well as regular turning of the compost, allows for air to flow and for the organic matter to break down without producing methane gases.
Over the course of a few months, the compost will decompose, and cure in the summer months with the help of heat, and be ready for use in your garden once it is crumbly and soft.
This method is suited for garden and food waste, with the exception of meat and dairy, which can attract rodents and pests.
Worm farming
Worm farming, or “vermicomposting”, is good for those small amounts of space and small amounts of food waste.
In this “cool composting’ method, a colony of red worms (different from the earthworms in your garden) do all the work of breaking down your waste for you.
Success in this method is reliant on your worms being happy and healthy, which can be done by feeding them small amounts regularly.
This method is suitable for most food scraps, with limited amounts of acid-rich citrus, onions and garlic, and not for meat and dairy.
Bokashi bins
Bokashi composting is a fairly new kid on the block in the world of composting, and is the method most like a science project.
The method was developed in Japan in the 1980s, and means “fermenting organic waste”.
In this method, food scraps are placed in a bin with holes either in the bottom, or a spout tap that allows for the drainage of all liquids, and an air-tight lid.
Bokashi bran is layered between food scraps, which produces a useable product within weeks with the help of “effective microbes” that ferment the waste.
This fermented waste can either be dug into the soil to decompose further or added to an existing compost pile to speed up the decomposition process.
This is the quickest method of composting, and is good for those with limited space, but does require regular maintenance.
Green bins
According to Campaspe Shire Council, the average general waste bin in our area is 30 per cent food waste, 10 per cent garden waste and 16 per cent other organic waste —meaning 56 per cent of our compostable organic waste is ending up in landfill.
The green bins themselves currently have a very low contamination rate, with just 0.5 per cent food waste in plastic bags, and 0.5 per cent other waste and recyclables present in the bins. A full list of items that are accepted in the green bins is available on the council website.
In 2021, 70 per cent of survey participants knew that food and garden waste from the green bins is composted by a commercial facility (Biomix) and sold for use in broadacre farming, horticulture and local garden centres. In 2020, 67 per cent of survey participants knew this.
The waste in green bins is converted into Biomix compost at Stanhope, which is then available for purchase at nurseries around the shire including Temptations Living and Landscapes in Rochester, for home gardening and agricultural use.
Council is calling on the community to provide feedback on waste and the environment through the annual WickED survey. To participate in this year’s survey, visit www.campaspe.vic.gov.au/Our-council/Now-open/WickED-survey.
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