Friends of the Farm supports Compost Collective at popular workshop

Written by Caroline Walmsley

A beautiful Saturday morning at Ambury welcomed nearly 20 attendees to the Compost Collective’s most recent workshop, hosted by Friends of the Farm.  Compost enthusiast and Friends of the Farm volunteer Caroline, welcomed the group and spoke about upcoming Council changes to landfill collection.  She let the group know about Friends of the Farm’s local waste reduction initiatives such as the household waste project, which helps families to sort and reduce their rubbish.  Participants were interested to learn that soft plastics can be collected and taken to New World, Countdown, Pak ‘n’ Save and The Warehouse to be recycled.

Attendees came from just around the corner and further afield to learn about three different methods of disposing of food and garden waste: composting, worm farming and bokashi.  Hari from The Compost Collective explained the importance of reducing our waste to landfill, given that Auckland produces a rugby field full of rubbish every week. Around half of that is garden and food waste, which doesn’t need to go in the rubbish at all.  In landfill, this kind of waste produces methane, one of the worst greenhouse gases and a major contributor to climate change.  When composted though, it's a valuable resource for the garden!  

Hari started by demonstrating how to make a DIY worm farm- what should and shouldn’t go in and what to do with the valuable worm tea and worm casts which result.  Participants got up close and personal with the ‘workers’ on the farm as Hari showed his tiger worms around the room.  Attendees then learned about compost bins and the importance of colour.  Layered green and brown ingredients make the best compost; green being wet materials such as lawn clippings and veggie scraps, and brown being dry materials such as dead leaves and torn up newspaper or cardboard.

Last but not least, Hari explained about the lesser-known composting system called bokashi.  Using anaerobic microorganisms and kitchen waste to produce garden fertiliser, bokashi is a favourite for both Hari and Caroline as all food waste (including cooked food and meat) can be disposed of in this simple system.

Question time was enthusiastic and interesting, and participants departed fired up to start their new composting systems.  Each attendee looked forward to receiving their $40 voucher to put towards a composting system of their choice – a gift from Compost Collective and sponsored by Auckland Council.  Especially interesting to hear about was a new initiative beginning at the teaching garden at Old School Reserve on Kirkbride Rd in Mangere. Here, a system is being set up to receive bokashi compost from neighbouring households who don't have enough space to use it themselves.

At the end of the workshop, participants were reminded that Hari and Caroline are available to provide ongoing support and both can be contacted via Caroline at Friends of the Farm (friends@fof.nz)

Further information on the various composting systems can be found on the Compost Collective website https://compostcollective.org.nz

Further information on reducing household waste can be found on the Auckland Council website http://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/EN/environmentwaste/rubbishrecycling/Pages/WasteAndYourOptions.aspx

Mangere Bridge Boutique Market Bin Trial

The introduction of a three waste stream bin station (compost, recycling and landfill) has been successfully trialled at the weekly Mangere Bridge Boutique Market.  Friends of the Farm carried out the trial to address the issue of overflowing rubbish bins at the market and to further our vision of a connected, caring and wastewise community. The trial was supported by the Mangere Bridge Progressive Business Association, who committed in their 2016 strategic plan “to encourage businesses to reduce their waste, promote recycling and avoid unnecessary packaging, and continue with progress to making the market a zero-waste event”.

We connected market co-ordinator Donna Hansen with local composting champion Steve Rickerby (We Compost), who supplied and collected a food waste/ compostables bin on a weekly basis during the trial.  Friends of the Farm volunteers were rostered on to monitor the bin during the five weeks of the trial, to trouble-shoot and ensure market-goers knew how to use it correctly.  A recycle bin was already in use at the market and working well, thanks to the efforts of market vendors (and Friends of the Farm members!) Dawn and Denise (Oddbits). 

During our first week, we experimented with the location of the bin and observed how it was used.  We concluded that the bin station needed a fixed location, with a public information board and sample items attached to each bin to ensure correct usage.   We also noted that the fixed general waste bins around the market needed to be covered up so that people didn’t continue to use them during the market.

We noticed that while some of the market vendors had switched to compostable packaging, others still needed some support around this.  By the end of the trial, 90% of food vendors were supplying wholly compostable packaging. The takeaway cups from the cafes, which were also being deposited into the market bins, caused some confusion, as they were a mix of compostables, recyclables and landfill waste.

We measured the diversion of waste from landfill between week two to five of the trial and found that a whopping 94% of market waste was able to be composted (66%) or recycled (28%)! Huge thanks to the vendors for their choice of packaging, which made this exceptional result possible, and to the public who enthusiastically embraced the new bins.

With the impressive results of the trial, we’d strongly encourage the market to continue utilising the three waste stream bin station.  Without monitors, the bins may need some sorting at the end of each market, but as awareness increases this need should reduce over time.  We’d also recommend that the cafes switch to compostable cups, to reduce waste (and confusion!) even further.  Huge thanks to the market for supporting the trial and for your commitment to reducing waste.  And especially to Denise and Donna for your patience and support in driving this initiative forward.

Mangere Bridge Foreshore Pop-Up Clean Up February 2017

Friends of the Farm led another community clean up last week, focusing our efforts around the old bridge.  We were joined by several of our regular volunteers, along with a couple of newcomers.  One local resident came along with his daughter for the first time, seeing this as an opportunity to show her the importance of caring for the environment.  Several other people had noticed a build up of rubbish along the shoreline recently and felt that a clean up was timely.

With 16 pairs of willing hands and an hour of our time, we managed to collect 12 big bags of rubbish from the picnic area and alongside the bridge.   Once again, there was a lot of single-use plastic around, and piles of old bottles hidden in the mangroves.  Time to lobby our MPs about container deposit legislation!

Big thanks to everyone who came along and to Auckland Council for your support.  If you missed out this time, another opportunity to get involved in a community clean up is on its way!  Pencil Saturday 4 March into your diaries and join us for Love Your Coast Mangere Bridge, brought to you by Friends of the Farm and Sustainable Coastlines as part of their big Manukau Harbour clean up for 2017 (For more details, look out for our posts on Neighbourly and Facebook).