Brisbane Loves Compost
Welcome to Brisbane Loves Compost
This is your page to connect with Brisbane composters and to find out what's happening across Brisbane to do with composting, gardening and living a more sustainable life style.
Whether you're involved in the Community Composting Hubs, the Master Composter Course, ShareWaste, or home composting, you can find something for you here. We really value and welcome your input so please contribute! Every tab has a different functionality, so for you to better understand how this page works please see below:
- Composting at Home - This is a forum, feel free to comment on any discussion posted here and get talking amongst yourselves
- Compost Notice Board - Add your composting experiences and comment on each other's posts. Use this page to share ideas. News articles, a fun event or workshop you went too, a DIY you made at home, everything is welcome in this space lets get creative!
- Master Composters - Resources for Master Composters - volunteering opportunities, videos and more.
What's happening in August
There is a composting and worms workshop on Thursday 10th and Saturday 12th August at the Mt Coot-tha Botanical Gardens. This month Grow it Local have a very cool composting myth busting online workshop which you don't want to miss!
BrisScience: The Power of Compost – Monday August 7th
Professor Susanne Schmidt is a UQ-based educator and scientist with expertise in agro-ecology and sustainable food production. She will be giving a lecture on her research investigating the power of compost. This event is available online or in-person at the State Library of Queensland. Bookings here!
Celebrating our community members - Nook Sangwan
Nook came to Australia in 2004 as an international student, learning everything from our language, to our roads, our way of life and of course about our waste management system. Nook was using the household red and yellow bins for years, like many of us without thinking twice about where her rubbish was actually going and completely unaware of what compost was and how beneficial it is for the environment.
It wasn’t until 2019 that her composting journey started when she bought her first bokashi bin. Without knowing how to use it she adapted a "can do" attitude and started researching and educating herself. Now three years later Nook is a flourishing composter, she has five compost bins, a worm farm and is running her own composting workshops. Around 90% of the organic matter going into her compost bins are coffee grounds and food waste which she collects weekly from her local café and farmers markets. Some businesses deliver food, paper, coffee, ect direct to the Gumbuya Community Garden, Sandgate and others put it aside and have arranged for Nook to pick it up directly from their store where she transports it back herself.
In order to become a certified Master Composter with BCC Nook had to complete 20 volunteer hours, she has now banked hundreds of hours up at Gumbuya Community Garden which has become like a second home to her and where she has made lifelong friends. The compost system the gardens had previously was in desperate need of attention! Thankfully after completing the Master composter course in July 2022 Nook gained the knowledge and confidence to be able to assist them. She took the old, neglected equipment and soil and turned their system into a highly functioning compost set up which is now producing beautiful, rich, good quality soil and is being fed back into their local gardens growing fresh produce for their community members and families. It definitely wasn’t an easy accomplishment, from replacing old and damaged compost bins to attending body corporate meetings, submitting proposals and implementing new processes around their compost management system to now keeping it running smoothly and assisting members with troubleshooting. Nook is an inspiration with her passion, dedication and her willingness to teach others along the way.
Nook spoke to me about the work she does in the community, when she isn’t studying, teaching English, volunteering at her local community garden or making handmade items for her small business she can be found composting and gardening. It’s not just a hobby for her, it’s a way of life. She has recently started delivering composting 101 workshops to community members, local residents and kids at local PCYC. Teaching has always been a passion of hers and now she gets to educate people about one of the most important things we can do to combat climate change.
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New Compost bays
BCC has provided the Watson Street Garden with some new compost bays.
These are different from the previous ones with solid wooden sides
instead of wood and mesh. We are finding it difficult to maintain the correct moisture with the solid sides holding all the moisture in. We have had some improvement by propping the top open and putting some vents in the pile. Does anyone else have any tips for these new bays? -
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Accidental Fly Farmer
Back in late 2021 I attended the BCC Master Composters' course. Aside from having an absolutely lovely time hanging out with fellow composters and gardening types, at two of Brisbane’s best community gardens, we were treated to some splendidly inspiring speakers! Renae McBrien, wow!!
Whilst I have many systems to recycle my organic waste, I didn’t have a Black Soldier Fly (BSF) Farm. Motivated by their inclusion in the course, and to create a free food source for my chook, I thought I’d give it a go. I followed my notes from the course and Costa’s guide https://youtu.be/SbzedftrQJw
Unfortunately my... Continue reading
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Share Don't miss the first Grow It Local event for 2023! on Facebook Share Don't miss the first Grow It Local event for 2023! on Twitter Share Don't miss the first Grow It Local event for 2023! on Linkedin Email Don't miss the first Grow It Local event for 2023! link
Don't miss the first Grow It Local event for 2023!
Online Event: Growing Food in a tough climate - 14th January at 2pm
You can register through the Brisbal City Council website - https://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/clean-and-green/rubbish-tips-and-bins/reducing-waste-at-home/love-food-hate-waste/grow-it-local
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Learn all about composting - save green waste from land fill
As we come to the end of 2022, I would like to thank Brisbane City Council for offering their wonderful programs to support recycling , in particular their composting course - Master Composter. I did the 2 day course and have completed the 20 hours volunteering at the Downfall Creek centre and what a wonderful experience it has been, helping to turn green waste into compost for the gardens or local residents. If we all do our bit to reduce our own green waste, we can all make the world a better place and that makes me feel so good... Continue reading
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Share Compost turning at Downfall Creek - friend comes to visit ! on Facebook Share Compost turning at Downfall Creek - friend comes to visit ! on Twitter Share Compost turning at Downfall Creek - friend comes to visit ! on Linkedin Email Compost turning at Downfall Creek - friend comes to visit ! link
Compost turning at Downfall Creek - friend comes to visit !
It was great to have a friend oversee my latest compost turn at Downfall Creek last week. A lovely carpet python, and quite a healthy looking fellow/girl and very cooperative !
If you are interested in helping out or learning more about composting ,call in and see the friendly team at Downfall Creek. Its great fun and we are saving the planet by reducing green waste in landfill.
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Looking at how Brisbane’s Community Composting Hubs are doing
I am Myra Mow, a Bachelor student at the University of Queensland's School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, currently undertaking my Honor’s project, entitled 'Examining the efficacy and viability of food waste recycling through Community Composting in Brisbane'. The aims of this project are (i) to determine the quantities of food scraps that are diverted from landfill through community composting hubs, and (ii) to learn about how different composting hubs operate and what could be done to improve operations and outcomes. This project involves two key components:
- Weighing the amount of food scraps received at 4 composting hubs over a... Continue reading
Who's Listening
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Senior Program Officer, Behaviour Change
Waste and Resource Recovery Services, Brisbane City Council
Phone 07 3403 8888 Email WasteSmartHome@brisbane.qld.gov.au -
Program Officer, Behaviour Change
Waste and Resource Recovery Services, Brisbane City Council
Phone 07 3403 8888 Email WasteSmartHome@brisbane.qld.gov.au
Videos
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Watch what happens to your green waste bin
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