Recycle, Reuse, and Reduce your waste

DID YOU KNOW that the average Australian family throws out about $73 per week, or $3805 per year, worth of food? Crazy right? That means not only are we wasting our food, we are wasting our money and we are contributing to a growing problem which affects our beautiful environment on the Sunshine Coast.

The good news is there are some relatively easy solutions we can all practise at home. First up, we can learn how to recycle better, and part of this is recycling our food scraps. Yep, I’m talking about compost.

By learning how to create a simple compost, we are enabling food waste to be reused and recycled back into the soil as fertiliser. We are creating an at-home sustainable food system that encourages the re-purposing of food waste because the funky black crumbly material created by our compost, called humus, is full of nutrients that give back to our gardens, flower beds and even our pot plants. We are doing our part for the environment too because composting can divert as much as 30 per cent of household waste away from the wheelie bin.

So how do you make your own compost? Here are a few simple, helpful tips.

1. Make sure you put the right stuff in your compost. This means no animal fats, processed foods, dog or cat litter or sanitary items. The best things to compost include vegetable peelings, fruit waste, teabags, plant prunings and grass cuttings. It’s good to include some slow-rotting materials such as cardboard egg cartons and crushed egg shells to provide vital fibre to the mix. Also remember that plastics, glass and metals are not suitable for composting and should be recycled separately.

2. Aim for about 60 per cent carbon-rich matter (the brown stuff), like branches, stems, dried leaves, peels, bits of wood, bark dust or sawdust pellets, shredded brown paper bags, egg shells, straw and wood ash. And about 30 per cent nitrogenrich material (the green stuff) like manures, food scraps, green lawn clippings and green leaves.

3. For smaller compost heaps, collect the scraps in a plastic canister. When it’s full, take it outside, dig a hole and bury the scraps. After that, you sit back and forget about it, while the organic materials gradually break down. This is a good idea if you have a smaller backyard space or just want the compost to be out of sight.

4. If you want to make a bigger compost, pick a good bin and find a level place to put it in the garden. You can either close it up or leave it open. Open bins make it easier to turn the matter.

5. When it comes to the compost heap, the general rule is that the bigger it is, the longer it takes to decompose. For faster composting, break up the materials quite small.

6. If your outdoor compost smells, it means there is too much moisture. Turn the pile to get some aeration and add more browns or carbon-rich materials.

7. Let the worms do most of the work. Worms love eating food waste, so it’s an option to buy yourself some worms, let them eat up and convert the waste into a liquid compost gold.

8. When your compost is ready, you’ll have an almost black soil-like layer at the bottom of your bin or container. It will be a spongy texture and rich in nutrients. You can now reuse and recycle by spreading the compost through your gardens to improve the soil quality and reduce the need for nasty pesticides, especially if you have your own backyard vegie garden. Try out these helpful hints to get your home compost started. We would love to hear how you go, so don’t forget to post a photo of your compost with the #saltmag

“ the funky black crumbly material created by our compost… is full of nutrients.

WORDS LAHNEE PAVLOVICH

PHOTOS PABLO PAVLOVICH