War on Waste Made Easy: Cut-Price Compost Bins and Worm Farms
Reducing your household waste is a breeze thanks to the Compost Revolution's discounts and advice
Joanna Tovia
19 January 2018
Houzz editorial team. Photojournalist specialising in design, travel and living well. Follow her photodocumentary about pets and the people who love them on Instagram @unfoldingtails
Houzz editorial team. Photojournalist specialising in design, travel and living well.... More
It’s no secret that too much food waste is ending up in landfill. In NSW alone, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says a third of the average red-lidded bin is made up of wasted food, adding up to 800,000 tonnes of edible food being thrown out each year! The good news is that compost bins and worm farms can be acquired at discounts of up to 45 per cent thanks to the council-run Compost Revolution program operating across Australia.
“Surprisingly, a lot of people love the process of worm farming and composting, and get satisfaction from the actual doing,” says Jp Williamson, regional organic waste officer for Waverley, Woollahra and Randwick councils in Sydney. “There is even research showing that contact with soil alleviates depression and nurtures happiness. And, of course, there are the obvious benefits of less landfill, less greenhouse gasses, free fertiliser and healthier, lusher-looking plants to boot.”
“Surprisingly, a lot of people love the process of worm farming and composting, and get satisfaction from the actual doing,” says Jp Williamson, regional organic waste officer for Waverley, Woollahra and Randwick councils in Sydney. “There is even research showing that contact with soil alleviates depression and nurtures happiness. And, of course, there are the obvious benefits of less landfill, less greenhouse gasses, free fertiliser and healthier, lusher-looking plants to boot.”
Food for thought
Diverting food you’d typically throw away – tea bags and coffee grounds, eggshells, fruit and vegetable scraps, and bones – can have a bigger impact on the environment than you might think. Food piling up in landfill is a major cause of methane gas production, which traps heat in the atmosphere and contributes to climate change. If we stopped wasting food in NSW alone, the EPA says the environmental impact would be the equivalent of taking 117,000 cars off the road.
Forty-plus councils across Australia are now taking part in the Compost Revolution to provide discounted worm farms and compost bins to householders. Visit the Compost Revolution website and enter your address – a quick quiz later and an inexpensive compost bin or worm farm will soon be delivered to your home.
Diverting food you’d typically throw away – tea bags and coffee grounds, eggshells, fruit and vegetable scraps, and bones – can have a bigger impact on the environment than you might think. Food piling up in landfill is a major cause of methane gas production, which traps heat in the atmosphere and contributes to climate change. If we stopped wasting food in NSW alone, the EPA says the environmental impact would be the equivalent of taking 117,000 cars off the road.
Forty-plus councils across Australia are now taking part in the Compost Revolution to provide discounted worm farms and compost bins to householders. Visit the Compost Revolution website and enter your address – a quick quiz later and an inexpensive compost bin or worm farm will soon be delivered to your home.
Composting
Composting is easy once you know how. Set up your compost bin in a sheltered spot with good drainage and lots of sun, feed it a half-and-half mix of food scraps and garden scraps, and aerate it by giving it a good stir every time you feed it. Adding worms will also help aerate the soil – you can buy packs of worms online from the Compost Revolution store.
The Compost Revolution program began in 2012. “Since then, more than 6000 tonnes of food waste has been diverted from landfill,” says Williamson. That’s the equivalent of 49,645 wheelie bins!
Composting is easy once you know how. Set up your compost bin in a sheltered spot with good drainage and lots of sun, feed it a half-and-half mix of food scraps and garden scraps, and aerate it by giving it a good stir every time you feed it. Adding worms will also help aerate the soil – you can buy packs of worms online from the Compost Revolution store.
The Compost Revolution program began in 2012. “Since then, more than 6000 tonnes of food waste has been diverted from landfill,” says Williamson. That’s the equivalent of 49,645 wheelie bins!
You can compost a diverse array of food scraps: fruits and vegetables, chilli, garlic, citrus, grains, dairy and small amounts of meat. Food scraps are wet and high in nitrogen, which encourage compost to break down.
“Composting is as simple as giving a 30-second stir and sprinkling some mulch on top each time you empty your kitchen scraps bucket,” says Williamson. “With worm farming, you just pop the scraps straight in and that’s that, but you need to be more careful about what you put in there.”
Become the Reigning Champ of Compost
“Composting is as simple as giving a 30-second stir and sprinkling some mulch on top each time you empty your kitchen scraps bucket,” says Williamson. “With worm farming, you just pop the scraps straight in and that’s that, but you need to be more careful about what you put in there.”
Become the Reigning Champ of Compost
Worm farming
“Worm farms are great for apartments,” says Williamson. “We know of many people who have one at the end of their kitchen bench and wipe scraps straight in. We know of another person who has one under their pot-plant-filled breakfast bar in their beautiful bay windows in Sydney’s iconic Hibernian House.”
Worms don’t eat the actual scraps you give them, but the bacteria on the surface of the food as it breaks down. Compost worms need air, moisture, food and shelter from the sun and rain – all things a worm farm can provide.
Scatter scraps from fruit and vegetables, eggshells, tea bags and coffee grounds on top of the upper tray. The smaller the pieces, the faster the food will break down – whizzing scraps in the blender makes instant worm food. Old paper towels, hair and cooked food can also be added in small amounts.
Worm wee collects in the bottom tray of a worm farm, which can then be collected via the tap, diluted and used on the garden as a natural fertiliser.
“Worm farms are great for apartments,” says Williamson. “We know of many people who have one at the end of their kitchen bench and wipe scraps straight in. We know of another person who has one under their pot-plant-filled breakfast bar in their beautiful bay windows in Sydney’s iconic Hibernian House.”
Worms don’t eat the actual scraps you give them, but the bacteria on the surface of the food as it breaks down. Compost worms need air, moisture, food and shelter from the sun and rain – all things a worm farm can provide.
Scatter scraps from fruit and vegetables, eggshells, tea bags and coffee grounds on top of the upper tray. The smaller the pieces, the faster the food will break down – whizzing scraps in the blender makes instant worm food. Old paper towels, hair and cooked food can also be added in small amounts.
Worm wee collects in the bottom tray of a worm farm, which can then be collected via the tap, diluted and used on the garden as a natural fertiliser.
Avoid feeding your worms oranges and lemons, onion, garlic and chilli. Meat, bones, fish, tofu, beans and dairy foods are also a no-no, as are garden scraps such as leaves and grass.
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Minimising food waste in the first place is, of course, the best way to go. Visit Love Food, Hate Waste for ideas, and Food Lovers Republic to learn how you can reduce food waste by planning your meals and shopping lists.
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Tell us
Share your tips for successful worm farming or composting in the Comments below, and don’t forget to like, bookmark or share this story. Join the conversation.
More
Read up on eco-living ideas
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I just dig a hole in the garden and bury all my scraps in it every day. It only seems to take about 5 or 6 weeks for everything to be broken down. This encourages the worms and the soil is richer. The only problem I have is I have lots of little toms, cucumber, pumpkin plants coming up which I just pull out.
Sulo bins make good compost bins. The small Sulo bins are best. They are rodent free and do not discharge a foul smelling staining liquid if kept on a sold base. Leave the lid on the bin. Drill small holes about 10 mm diam on all sides. Put about 40-50 holes in each side, equally spaced. Do not put holes in the bottom or 150-200 mm from the base. Without these holes there would not be enough air for the composting chemical reactions to occur. Being on wheels the bin is easy to move to where it needs to be emptied. A word of caution, the bin will become very heavy and almost impossible to move if filled too much. Test its weight as it fills and move it to where it needs to be emptied before it gets too heavy. The usual rules for composting apply.
Teabags have some plastic in them, which is why they won't break down completely! Fair Trade are trying to source plastic-free bags to us for their brand of tea.