City to Soil rolled out accross Goulburn Mulwaree

media release from Goulburn Mulwaree Council

Goulburn Mulwaree Council’s groundbreaking City to Soil initiative will be provided across Goulburn and Marulan this month.

City to Soil is being expanded after a successful trial in Eastgrove over the past three months.
Goulburn Mulwaree Council Facilities Engineer Andrew Galland said he hoped the remainder of Goulburn and Marulan supported the program as residents had in Eastgrove.

"This will be one of the first community wide collections of compostable organic waste in Australia," Mr Galland said.

"We have been thrilled with the response to the program in Eastgrove and I hope the remainder of our community will be as supportive. City to Soil will be provided to all residents that currently have a monthly green waste collection."

Residents across Goulburn and Marulan will receive a free, specially designed MaxAir kitchen top bin and compostable biobags for the collection of food scraps. The bins, a year supply of biobags (a roll of 150 bags), a sticker and an instruction leaflet will be delivered to homes over the coming days.

"The contamination levels in the green waste we’ve collected have been extraordinarily low, which is an excellent effort from Eastgrove’s residents," Mr Galland said.

"In the first collection made in July, Council collected 9.16 tonnes of combined food and garden waste from Eastgrove, with only 7kg of contamination removed, which is unbelievably low.

"The Eastgrove trials have helped us finetune the composting process at the Goulburn Waste Management Centre, and we are confident that we can handle all the kitchen waste from Goulburn and Marulan."

Most residents should have the bins for the October green waste collection, however some residents may not receive them in time. These residents will receive their bins in time for the November green waste collection.

Compost test sites to be finalised

Groundswell Project Manager Simone Dilkara said two trial sites to test the compost will be finalised shortly.

"We had 35 farmers who wanted to be involved in the trials and responded to the Expression of Interest," Ms Dilkara said.

"The response shows that farmers are really interested in composted products, soil health and chemical fertiliser alternatives. It shows that Goulburn Mulwaree Council is really on the right track – the community supports the project, and farmers really support the project."

MEDIA INTERVIEWS: Please contact Goulburn Mulwaree Council’s Acting Facilities Manager Andrew Galland on 02 4823 4488 or Groundswell Project Manager Simone Dilkara on 0447 273 099.

Goulburn Mulwaree Council
Telephone: (02) 4823 4444
www.goulburn.nsw.gov.au

First City to Soil PRIZE Presented

press release from Goulburn Mulwaree Council........

The first of two monthly City to Soil prizes has been presented to Eastgrove’s Heather Slater.
Mrs Slater was randomly selected to receive the prize – a fruit and vegetable basket - after her family correctly collected their food waste in biobags and placed it in their green waste bins.

When collecting the basket, Mrs Slater praised the new City to Soil initiative.

"It’s a really good idea, especially if it’s going to help farmers," Mrs Slater said.
"It was very easy to use and there was no smell, which was a bit surprising."

Two monthly prizes will continue to be presented throughout the Eastgrove test-run of City to Soil. When the collections are rolled out in Goulburn and Marulan later this year, monthly prizes will also be on offer.

PHOTO: CITY TO SOIL WINNER: Council’s Facilities Engineer Andrew Galland presents Eastgrove local Heather Slater with one of the first City to Soil monthly prizes – a basket of fruit and vegetable.

Unique kitchen waste collection kicks off in Eastgrove

media release

Images: Goulburn locals Gemma (left) and Alicia Hollands are looking forward to helping the environment and local farmers by collecting their kitchen waste in specially designed kitchen top bins and biobags.

Eastgrove residents will be the first to try a unique new kitchen waste collection designed to help the environment and local farmers at the same time.

Eastgrove has been chosen to test run Goulburn Mulwaree Council’s new City to Soil initiative, which will involve residents receiving a free, specially designed MaxAir kitchen top bin and compostable biobags for the collection of food scraps. The bins, a year supply of biobags (a roll of 150 bags), a sticker and an instruction leaflet will be delivered to homes in Eastgrove next week.

Residents will then be asked to collect kitchen waste in the bins and biobags - including raw or cooked food, tea bags, coffee grounds, fruit and vegetables, peelings, leftovers, paper towels, meat and fish. This kitchen waste then goes in the 240 litre greenwaste bins for collection – before being taken to Goulburn Waste Management Centre where it is transformed into high quality compost and provided to local farmers to help improve agricultural soils.

The Eastgrove test run will allow Council to fine tune the composting process before the collection is extended across Goulburn City and Marulan later this year.

"This is a fantastic new project and as far as I am aware, it will be the first community-wide collection of food scraps for composting in Australia," Goulburn Mulwaree Council Facilities Manager David Rayner said.

"The Eastgrove test run will help us do a final check of the composting process. But we know the process works because we have already undertaken a number of trials, and a similar process is used in around 2000 communities worldwide. The kitchen waste collections will definitely be introduced across Goulburn City and Marulan later this year.

"Currently Goulburn’s waste is disposed of at Council’s own landfill. By encouraging composting we will help combat Climate Change by cutting methane gas production, reduce waste costs by prolonging the life of the landfill and help local farmers improve agricultural soils. It really is a win-win for everyone involved," Mr Rayner said.

The introduction of the City to Soil kitchen waste collections in Goulburn Mulwaree, Lachlan, Palerang and Queanbeyan Council areas is being undertaken through a project known as Groundswell – which is funded by a $1.96 million grant over three years from the NSW Environmental Trust. Goulburn Mulwaree Council was the lead organisation in the grant application, and is the first to introduce the kitchen waste collections.

Groundswell Project Manager Simone Dilkara said the other three Council areas involved are on track to start the kitchen waste collections soon.

"Work is underway to establish composting sites in the other Council areas and we are gearing up for the new collections to start between now and the end of the year," Ms Dilkara said.
"It is really exciting that it will officially start in Eastgrove next week.

"We will also be advertising in the coming weeks for local farmers to get involved, however I have already been contacted by a number who are keen to take part. Composted kitchen and greenwaste returns organic matter, microbes and nutrients to soils, which is of enormous benefit in agricultural areas.

"The overall aim of this project is to show that organic waste can be profitably collected, composted to a high standard and returned to agricultural soils. It is also really important for the local community to know that the MaxAir kitchen top bins and biobags have been specially designed to make sure food scraps do not smell – and they really do work," Ms Dilkara said.

The benefits of the City to Soil collections include that it will:

• Support local farmers
• Reduce waste to landfill (and therefore prolong the life of Council’s landfill and save money)
• Improve agricultural soils
• Help address climate change

The City to Soil collections will encourage local residents to ‘become part of the solution’.

MEDIA INTERVIEWS:
Please contact Goulburn Mulwaree Council’s Facilities Manager David Rayner on 02 4823 4488 or Groundswell Project Manager Simone Dilkara on 0447 273 099.

MEDIA ENQUIRIES:
Please contact Goulburn Mulwaree Council’s Communications Unit on 4823 4412 or
4823 4548.

Media Link - Interest Swells in Groundswell

Released on 19 May 2008.

A program aimed at reducing green waste dumped at Goulburn Waste Depot and helping local farmers is gaining momentum – and Goulburn Mulwaree Council is leading the way.

Groundswell – City to Soil is a program that will allow Goulburn Mulwaree residents to put food scraps in a handy container which is kept in their kitchen. The container, which is lined with a special Biobag, can be emptied into the green waste bin. It is then collected, processed and made into compost, which is distributed to local farmers.

Council will lead the Groundswell project, with Palerang, Queanbeyan and Lachlan councils to take part. The project has received $1.86 million over three years from the NSW Environment Trust.

Groundswell’s Project Manager, Simone Dilkara, along with Goulburn Mulwaree Council staff and Gerry Gillespie from the NSW Department of Environment and Climate Change, have been trialling various methods to find the best composting process for the combined food and garden waste. They have also been testing the Biobags to ensure they can handle the most noxious odours.

"We have been trialling the Biobags with all the most awful things you can imagine, meat and fish bones, and they are working very well. We think that residents will be really happy with the Biobags and Maxair baskets," she said.

Ms Dilkara has a close connection with Goulburn. Born in the city, her family lived here in the 1960s and 70s, with her parents Bob and Beverley Woodman working in the area. She attended West Goulburn Primary, and was one of the first students at Wollondilly Public when it first opened.

Her family later moved to a small farm near Geary’s Gap and she has continued to work in and around Goulburn for the past 10 years, initially in the area health service as the Youth Program Coordinator and then for the NSW Premier’s Department as the project manager for the Regional Coordination Program.

"The Groundswell project combines my keen interest in sustainable agriculture, regional development and project management. It is a pleasure to be working for Goulburn Mulwaree Council on such an important project with so much potential," she said.

MEDIA INTERVIEWS: Please contact Goulburn Mulwaree Council’s Manager of Facilities David Rayner on 4823 4402 or Groundswell Project Manager Simone Dilkara on 0447 273 099.
MEDIA ENQUIRIES: Please contact Goulburn Mulwaree Council’s Communications Unit on 4823 4412 or 4823 4548.


Follow this link to see the original media release on Groundswell - City to Soil on the Goulburn Mulwaree Council website.