Ballina Shire Council, local organisations to host free Compost Week event

Ballina Shire Council and other organisations have partnered together to celebrate Compost Week in early May.

A handful of the compost. Picture: Katherine Jamison

Ballina Shire Council and other organisations have partnered together to celebrate Compost Week in early May.

International Compost Awareness Week is being observed from May 2 to 8 and this year it has the theme “Better Soil, Better Life, Better Future”.

The idea is to boost awareness of the role compost has as a valuable resource and to promote its use.

The council together with North East Waste, Ballina Community Garden and The Story Tree have arranged a morning of free activities for all ages from 9.30am to 12pn on Sunday, May 2.

“We’re really pleased with this result as it contributes to a circular economy where food scraps and garden waste are composted into a soil improver, which is then used to support the growing of more food and plants. The cycle has the capacity to continue perpetually,” the council’s waste education officer Samala Heart said.

She said many residents complement kerbside organics bins with their own home compost.

Greenhouse gases produced by food waste in Australia’s landfill releases the equivalent in greenhouse gas emissions to that of Australia’s steel and iron ore industries combined.

“Food and garden waste still makes up 39 per cent of our urban kerbside landfill bins and a whopping 47 per cent of rural landfill bins,” Ms Heart said.

“Council’s aim is to provide accessible and engaging programs to reduce these figures.

“By empowering and inspiring residents to practice more sustainable habits we can benefit our community now and into the future.”

The May 2 event will be held at the Ballina Community Garden on the corner of Swift and Clarence Streets in Ballina.

There will be comport workshops and families will be able to make their own plastic-free beeswax wraps and listen to award-winning storyteller Jenni Cargill-Strong.

A total of 7,358 tonnes of organic waste collected through Ballina Shire Council’s kerbside organics bins has been composted over the past 12 months.

Compost week activities are free but you should register your proposed attendance time for the compost workshop at compost_workshop_ballina.eventbrite.com.au.