Household Composting: The Future of Australia

Household Composting: the Future of Australia
Wai-Jing Man

Introduction to Sustainable Design 2012
Minneapolis College of Art and Design

Cradle to Cradle
C O M POST

Wai-Jing Man // I2SD 2012 // MCAD

What is composting?
Carbon Heat
material

Nitrogen
Oxygen
material

Moisture
Microorganisms


Composting has been practiced for centuries
and has many known benefits beyond soil
amendment, but its lack of popularity
amongst urban dwellers is due to a lack of
access to yards, parks or community gardens
to dispose of their organic waste.
??


Each year in 15 million tonnes
of CO2 equivalent
Australia... emissions

47%
47% of municipal waste
in landfills is food and 4.5 million tonnes
green organic waste (200kg/person)
of food are thrown out


The solution?
A council-operated household composting program

+ +

Regular Recycling Organic Waste


PLANET PEOPLE PUBLIC PROFIT

○ The program would divert up to 47% of waste going to landfill.
○ Reduction of Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions.
○ When used as a soil amendment, compost
- reduces the needs for chemical fertilisers by 50%, improving the environment,
water supply and farmers’ working conditions
- degrades and permanently absorbs heavy metals in the soil
- increases water retention in both sandy and clay soils
- suppresses plant and grass diseases, reducing the need for pesticides
- improves soil fertility and yield
- reduces silting and erosion
○ The methane released during the decomposition process can be harnessed as a
renewable energy source, decreasing the need to mine fossil fuels.



○ The compost program would provide jobs in the local community in areas of garbage
collection, factory work at the compost processing facility, distribution and various
administrative duties
○ Australia has strict standards of working conditions, ensuring employees are exposed to
ethical and fair work environments.
○ The provision of compost will boost the organic farming market and could potentially
result in consumer demand that favours organic over conventional or genetically
modified products.



○ Landfill maintenance costs decrease for the council, resulting in decreased public taxes
for the residents.
○ The reduction of methane emissions and landfill spread will result in a cleaner city and
healthier, happier residents.
○ Implementing a household composting program would educate the populace and a
sustainability mentality will emerge. Composting will slowly emerge as a mainstream
behaviour as bins are provided to various locales and neighbours generate a mass
consensus.
○ Residents gain a sense of pride knowing that they are contributing to a sustainable future
and benefitting the local community and economy.
○ The act of composting could assist in the reduction of food wastage on a national scale,
as consumers are able to physically observe their consumption/ waste habits.



○ The mature compost will become a reliable source of income for the local council as it will
be sold to local nurseries and farmers. This will alleviate the pressure of public taxes.
○ The council will benefit from reduced landfill maintenance costs, and farmers will
experience a decline in fertiliser and pesticide costs.
○ The methane and heat generated during the decomposition process can be harnessed
and used to power the compost facility (reducing energy costs) or put onto the grid and
sold back to the state government, generating a stable income and renewable energy
source. 10kg of compost generates 2m3 of methane gas which has the energy
equivalent to 1L of high quality petrol.


Implementing the program

The local council will distribute a new 60L
wheelie bin fitted with a Bio-Filter lid
developed by Andreas Knappheide from
Biologic.
Bins will be collected weekly to eliminate
the potential for pests and odours, and
prevent overflow from larger households.

Material is made from coconut fibres
which contain microorganisms valuable
to the decomposition process. The
material provides ideal living conditions
for the microorganisms for at least 2
years, after which the material will be
replaced by the council and added to the
compost heap.



The council will provide a magnetic Residents will be advised to place a
poster with a simple checklist of what small container on the bench top or
can/ cannot be composted under the sink for collecting organic
waste, and to empty it into the Bio-bin
every one or two days.

Shredded paper/ Dairy products
cardboard (C)
Meat, bones and
Wood ashes and seafood
sawdust (C)
Animal droppings
Coffee grounds, tea
Grease, fat, oils
leaves and filters (N)
Waxed and coloured
Egg shells
paper
Wet garden waste (N)
Toxic materials and
Dry garden waste (C) chemicals
Fruit/ vegetable Nonbiodegradable
peels and scraps (C) materials
Paper towel and
tissue (C)
Hair (N)



The Bio waste will be collected weekly and delivered to a compost processing facility. There the
compost heap will be monitored to ensure that correct ratios of carbon to nitrogen are
maintained so that adequate heat and microorganisms can flourish.



Using the processes developed
by French innovator Jean Pain,
heat can be harnessed and
used to heat the facility’s water
system or building spaces. Using
a different method, methane
emissions can be harnessed
and used to power the facility, or
sold back to the state
government as a renewable
energy source.



C O M P OST C O M P OST C O M P OST

For the council to
Nurseries Local farmers improve local waterways
and eroded soils


Cradle to Cradle

Reduce Australia’s waste Benefit the local economy Close the loop and ensure
and emissions and community a sustainable future for
Australia


Image References
http://www.isep.ipp.pt/7jtir/uploads/25thOctoberPresentations/4.1Andreas%20Knappheide.pdf
http://thenounproject.com
http://www.permaculturenews.org/images/03-spiral.jpg
http://www.permaculturenews.org/images/10-large-scale.jpg
References
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compost
http://gomestic.com/gardening/compost-heat-as-a-source-of-energy/
http://pedaltopetal.com/why-compost
http://permaculture.org.au/2011/12/15/the-jean-pain-way/
http://theconversation.edu.au/the-average-australian-wastes-200kg-of-food-a-year-yet-two-million-of-us-also-go-
hungry-why-5278
http://www.compostinstructions.com/what-you-can-and-cannot-compost/
http://www.earthtimes.org/going-green/importance-composting-help-eliminate-organic-waste-fertilize-soil/82/
http://www.epa.gov/wastes/conserve/composting/highway/highwy2.pdf
http://www.google.com/patents/US5322629
http://www.insidewaste.com.au/StoryView.asp?StoryID=1140289
http://www.isep.ipp.pt/7jtir/uploads/25thOctoberPresentations/4.1Andreas%20Knappheide.pdf
http://www.ozharvest.org/ourimpact.asp?pageID=611
http://www.waste-management-world.com/index/display/article-display/1631628963/articles/waste-manage
ment-world/volume-12/issue-2/features/closing-the-bio-lid-on-organic-collection-issues.html

Household Composting: The Future of Australia

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