Weddin Landcare is shining the light on waste in the Weddin district by running a series of waste management events in March, starting with their annual Clean Up Australia Day event, on Sunday 3 March at The Company Dam.
“The Company Dam is an area regularly monitored by Birding NSW for their biannual bird surveys. The site is also used recreationally by the community, so the impacts of keeping it clean benefit both the native wildlife and the community” said Weddin Landcare Coordinator, Melanie Cooper.
Weddin Landcare will then run a composting workshop with the STEM classes at The Henry Lawson High School, followed by a Composting and Recycling Workshop at the Weddin Community Native Nursery, with all interested community members welcome to attend.
“The temporary closure of several rural tips and subsequent pressure on the Grenfell Waste Depot has really got the team at Weddin Landcare thinking about how to improve our household waste processes, which sparked the idea for the Compost and Recycling Workshop” said Claire Diprose, Communications Officer for Weddin Landcare.
“There is a lot of different information out there on what can and can’t be recycled, and often it’s hard to know where to go locally to recycle beyond our kerbside bins” Claire said.
Representatives from Weddin Shire Council and Cowra Materials Recycling Facility will attend the workshop to share insights into the recycling process and other information on how to appropriately dispose of waste. This will be an opportunity for participants to gain an understanding of what happens after the kerbside recycling bins are emptied, along with what can be done to recycle better in the home.
“Oz Harvest estimates that Australia’s annual food waste is now more than 7.6 million tonnes per year and that one in every five bags of groceries ends up as waste. Over a year this is costing the average household around $3,800” Melanie said.
“Almost half of all household waste is organic and compostable yet around 92% of household organic waste ends up in landfill” Melanie added.
There are associated problems of food waste breaking down in landfill causing toxic methane gases and ending up as leachate that can make its way into our groundwater. Composting food waste before it gets to landfill is one of the most simple ways to mitigate this issue.
Weddin Landcare will demonstrate how to set up a worm farm and a compost bin to keep your food and green waste out of landfill. Instead, you will be able to put it to better use to fertilise your garden and build soil. The fertiliser outputs will work well for The Henry Lawson High School students who have recently set up their community garden. Weddin Landcare will be donating a tumbler composter to the High School to help with their efforts.
Participants at the Compost and Recycling Workshop will be provided with factsheets on how to recycle better, how to compost and helpful tips on how to reduce waste in the home. One lucky participant will also win a tumbler composter for their home garden to help get them started.
If you would like to be involved in any of these events, get in touch with Melanie Cooper on 0417 963 475 or weddinlandcare@outlook.com
The Clean Up Australia Day event is on Sunday 3rd March, 9 am to 11 am at The Company Dam, Grenfell. The Compost and Recycling Workshop is on Saturday 9th March, 9 am to 12:30pm at the Weddin Community Native Nursery, 43 East Street, Grenfell.