Diverting 6 tonnes of food waste from landfill
Lets celebrate - 6 tonnes of food waste has just been diverted from landfill!
This week the 20:20 Compost initiative has seen its pilot project come to life, turning commercial food waste into compost, and in the process it has brought together commercial and community interests. 20:20 Compost is starting work on the Sevenoaks site in Christchurch, with the intention of scaling the project throughout the city. The team are focusing on providing communities who have poor access to nutrition, the healthy and nutritious soils to grow nutrient-rich food.
From the outset the project has been physically tough. Over three days volunteers have shifted 6 tonnes of food waste that was otherwise destined for landfill. The team layered the food waste with shredded paper, wood chips, garden prunings and grass cuttings. An innoculum was added and the piles covered up. The micro-organisms are now breaking down this mix, with the nutrient-dense compost to be returned to the soils, providing fertile ground for the community to grow healthy local produce.
“Its very rewarding diverting this organic matter back to the earth. It has major health applications across our communities. By regenerating our soils we are helping create a healthy environment, healthy soils, and healthy foods for those who need it most.”
This approach is a little known method of composting; piling the organic waste into 20 cubic meters, adding an innoculum to counter smell and aid the decomposition over 20 weeks - thus 20:20 Compost.
There will be no supply shortages for the 20:20 Compost team, with over 22,000 tonnes of commercial food waste currently going to landfill in the city. With such scale a key component in meaningfully diverting waste to the landfill will be to reduce our waste to begin with. Something to bear in mind as we head into the festive season.
We are watching and waiting along with the team to see the piles of compost start to close the food nutrition cycle.