Food for thought this International Compost Awareness Week

This may be the first time you’ve heard about International Compost Awareness Week, but the magic of turning food waste into a superfood for plants shouldn’t be underestimated. Composting is important enough to have made it into the University’s Sustainability Strategy water, waste and recycling targets, with the aim being to compost 80 percent of our food and organic waste by 2025. To make progress towards this target, we’ve launched dedicated food organics and garden organics (FOGO) bins across campus and Chester the Biodigester to transform our organics into garden gold. There’s no better time to become a composting champion on campus, and beyond!

Why? The magic of compost

Composting our organic waste has many benefits to our environment:

• Compost as carbon capture and soil conditioning: compost feeds the soil and encourages microbes to grow. These microbes can sequester carbon in the soil through photosynthesis. As organic chemistry majors know, everything is made of carbon, and compost is a great way to get it out of food waste and back into the ecosystem (but not in that nasty emissions kind of way). 
• Reduce greenhouse gasses: if organic waste ends up in landfill, it will rot anaerobically and release greenhouse gases, mostly methane, which is toxic and contributes to global warming. Composting stops this.
• Increase soil water retention: compost has been proven to hold water, which is priceless during times of drought. 
• Circular economy: a circular economy turns ‘waste’ into a resource by building a resilient loop – your organic waste is turned to compost which improves soil quality and boosts food production, strengthening food supply, where waste is generated to start the process again. Compost can turn trash into treasure.

Where can I put my food waste?

Got food that you've left too long to eat? Or maybe you’re too full to finish? Before chucking it in the nearest landfill bin, consider one of the following options. 

If you’re on our Camperdown/Darlington Campus make sure you feed Chester, our biodigester by disposing of your food waste correctly in the green food organics and garden organics (FOGO) waste bins. You can find the green FOGO bins along Eastern Avenue, or smaller caddies in the kitchen areas of select buildings.

Keep Chester’s food clean by only depositing naturally occurring organics like food scraps and garden waste – he can’t eat paper, cardboard, bamboo or any compostable packaging (see what to compost for more details).

Where to compost

What to compost?

Naturally occurring organics, like food scraps and garden trimmings, are the only items we can compost and place in the green FOGO bins. This means no fibre-based food contact materials including baking paper, coffee filters, paper towels, serviettes, and no fibre-based food containers such as coffee cups, pizza boxes, plates, bowls or cardboard packaging. 

Here’s a quick list of what can and can’t be composted on campus. If you’re composting elsewhere (at home, with your local council), these items can differ so it’s always best to check with your provider. 

Why can’t we compost “compostable” packaging?

We know how confusing it is to say compostable packaging cannot be composted! The NSW Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) is the primary environmental regulator for New South Wales, determining what can and can’t be composted to protect our soils and maintain a healthy environment.

Compostable products such as coffee cups and cardboard packaging often contain additives to provide water and grease resistance in food packaging and have been shown to contain per and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) which may cause human and environmental harm. Compostable plastic kitchen caddy liners are the only exception, as they help to divert food waste from landfill by enabling easier and cleaner food waste collections for households and businesses.  

Compostable packaging cannot be recycled either due to their mixed compositions therefore they need to be disposed of in the red landfill bins. This means that reusables are your best option to reduce waste to landfill. There are several key initiatives on campus to help you make the switch to reusables including:

• Green Caffeen, a free reusable cup borrowing system at select cafes
• Refilled, a plastic-free vending machine in the Wentworth Building food court
• BYO bowl to receive a 50 cent discount at Courtyard, Abercrombie, Carslaw and Laneway
• Mug wall at Courtyard where you may borrow a reusable cup

Get involved

Want to put composting into action? We’ve developed two activities on campus to empower you to become a composting champion.

Meet Chester the Biodigester – Campus composting tour

Thursday 9 May, 10–11 am at Fisher Cafe (F03)

Designed to bring transparency to the process of turning food and organics waste into garden gold, we'll take on the persona of a humble banana peel to uncover the composting journey.

We'll debunk some assumptions and myths about composting, equipping you with all the right information to be a composting champion. Discover how and where you can compost on campus, what you can and can't compost on campus, why "compostable" packaging is not allowed to be composted, and of course meet and learn about Chester, our 2500 kilogram biodigester that can break down up to 500 kilograms of waste every day.

Community Compost Workshop – Stop treating our soil like dirt!

Wednesday 8 May, 11:30 am–12:30 pm at the USYD Community Garden, outside of the Agricultural Glass Houses (G02) 

This hands-on and interactive composting workshop is designed to bring awareness to composting on campus, while providing you with the knowledge and skills to compost at home.

We'll discuss all things composting and make our own bokashi bin composting system. You'll leave the session with a deeper understanding of the basics of composting, different composting options at home and on campus, the importance of closing loops and how to use compost in garden spaces.