Council takes the initiative on compost

Council takes the initiative on compost
Image: Bondi Pavilion / Photo: Waverley Council

Waverley Council has teamed up with sustainability expert Michael Mobbs to implement a new compost initiative.

Mr Mobbs from Sustainable Projects said the initiative will use a new machine to reduce food waste to a tenth of its size overnight.

“It will be about the size of a large fridge,” he said. “They’ll put their food waste in there and the machine will turn it into compost.

“It uses a mixture of heat and algae, and it turns food waste into compost in 24 hours. You can get a ton of food waste and it becomes just 100 kilos.”

After the compost is produced, it is taken out to a farm where it will be used as fertiliser.

“The compost will be taken out to a farm at Picton and it will be used instead of oil and gas-based fertilisers to grow soil and to fertilise the farms,” Mr Mobbs said.

Council will trial the new technology at the Bondi Pavilion in a move which could see local cafes reducing waste and expenses.

“We’re starting off at the Bondi Pavilion,” Waverley Mayor Sally Betts said. “The various operators at the pavilion and all the events we hold there generate about 600 kilograms of waste per day.

“Then we are talking to businesses along Campbell Pde and suggesting they might want to put their food waste there. For them it means that the cost of their waste removal will reduce.”

Councillor Ingrid Strewe welcomed the initiative but expressed concerns the compost unit uses a considerable volume of energy.

“The composting unit is a good idea; the only drawback is the high energy use, but this is balanced by the reduction in landfill fees for any commercial user,” she said.

Bondi Transition Group Director Lance Lieber supported the initiative, and said it was a positive move by Council.

“It looks like a very good step in the right direction in terms of doing it for the commercial businesses,” he said. “I don’t think we have many other options.”

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