By Renee Wood
Healesville residents are invited to join a local composting revolution by signing up to use a free Community Compost Hub established at the Healesville Community Garden.
It’s the first of its kind for the area and has been supported by the Community Alliance for Waste Reduction and Sustainability (CAWRS) and Sustainability Victoria.
Healesville Community Garden President Ethne Pfeiffer said it’s a great way for people to divert their kitchen scraps from landfill.
“We’ve had so many people tell us how bad they feel throwing out food waste because they don’t have space at home for a compost bin. So, this is a fantastic outcome for people and the environment,” Ms Pfeiffer said.
“It will be some time before Food Organics and Garden Organics (FOGO) bins are part of our waste collection system in the Yarra Ranges. We strongly encourage people to get into the habit of separating their food scraps as soon as possible.”
Local residents can register to become a participant which will allow them to bring their kitchen scraps to the garden to leave in a collection bin.
Garden members will then manage the composting process by making sure the items dropped off are compostable and they will then deposit them into the compost.
Tina D’Angelo has been named the ‘Compost Queen’ and will be one of the volunteers who’ll manage the compost system.
Ms D’Angelo said she’s worked in nurseries for 30 years and is grateful to be able to connect with like-minded people in the community garden.
“I get inspired by others who think the same,” Ms D’Angelo said.
The compost hub was built by durable hardwood pallets sourced by CAWRS from Bunnings and local volunteers assembled the structure.
Michael Brewster and Bruce McMicking were instrumental in constructing the three bay system with Mr Brewster adding some new features, such as a strong lid that can open in two ways which is sturdy enough to fold over.
Badger Creek Men’s Shed also helped out in the working bee as well as garden members including Nanette Gardner who enjoyed learning new skills with power tools during the creation process.
Registrations are now open for those interested and it’s expected to be a benefit for people who aren’t able to compost at home and want to reduce their waste sustainably.
To begin with the compost will be be used throughout the community garden but once there is enough, participants can then take home processed compost for their own gardens.
Volunteer Lead Mima McDonnell is also looking for anyone who’s interested in volunteering at the garden and can contact her on 0438059045.
Ms McDonnell is hoping to get people together for monthly meetups for garden maintenance.
Anyone interested in joining the compost hub can register via this link: https://bit.ly/HCG-CCH
A compost caddy will be given to the first ten people who register.
