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