Shoalhaven City Council continues to increase environmental awareness through its home composting project, which is to be expanded to 5,000 households over 2008/09.
The Green Home Composting Trial, which began in 2007, saw 200 households involved in the scheme, providing them with training and resources to compost their household garden and kitchen organic waste.
The results of the trial, which also included a pre-trial and post-trial audit and several participant surveys, show over 90 per cent of the participants have produced compost for their gardens within the trial period, with 80 per cent saying they gained a heightened awareness which prompted the implementation of other sustainable changes in the households.
Home composting resultantly translated into a 25 per cent reduction of garbage in the bin. Across the city, this would mean a projected annual reduction of around 6,250 tonnes of waste going to landfill.
Shoalhaven City Council’s Mayor Greg Watson said the significance of the initiative was in helping people internalise sustainable habits with a better understanding of their environmental footprint.
“This project allows for greater accessibility to sustainable behaviour, and that is why Council is prepared to see this project extended to 5,000 more households,” Cr Watson said.
The council will be calling for expressions of interest in July, and if more than 5,000 expressions of interests are received, selection will be on a first-come, first-served basis. Selected households will be provided with compost bin, kitchen tidy and bio bags on the provision that at least one person in the household attends a one-hour training program.
“The extension of this initiative could see a number of potential widespread benefits, including the improvement of the life of our waste depots and better backyard gardens and vegetable patches, reduced transportation of waste throughout the city, and a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in the city,” Cr Watson said.
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