Australia’s first national composting network launches to tackle the nation’s food waste crisis

Did you know that 7.3 million tonnes of food wasted each year in Australia – that’s enough to fill a staggering 13,000 Olympic sized swimming pools and equals about 300kg per person or one in five bags of groceries!

Set to help tackle the country’s huge food waste crisis, and close the loop on product lifecycles, Compost Connect is a non-for-profit online platform which will make it easier for consumers to find local business who are composting and drop off sites to divert their waste from landfill to nutrient rich compost, as well as link restaurants and cafes with composters. The initiative gets us closer to composting being of equivalent importance to recycling.

Neil Perry is taking the lead in the hospitality industry by engaging composting for his new sustainably focused restaurant, Margaret, opening in Double Bay this June. Neil is urging other hospitality operators to take accountability for the waste they create now to avoid dire ramifications on the environment in years to come.

Perry explains, “I’m scared for what the world might look like for my children and children’s children. If we don’t act now, we’re going to end up in a really awful situation. Sadly, it’s unsurprising that the foodservice industry creates so much waste, however, we still have the opportunity to change this if we make transformations now.”

“As a country, we need to re-think our processes and start thinking of the bigger picture. We need to work together to address the problem, reduce organic waste and contribute to achieving a better society for future generations. This initiative is going to change how the foodservice industry operates for the greater good of our country.”

Developed by sustainable packaging brand BioPak, as part of their extended producer responsibility, in conjunction with Australian BioPlastics Association, Boomerang Alliance and Australian Organics Recycling Association the network has been funded by a vital $400,000 government grant. A brand-agnostic platform run as a non-for-profit, Compost Connect is full of information on food waste, includes an interactive map which showcases who and what areas are composting as well as how to purchase compost from the composters directly.

Did you know – Food waste costs the economy around $20 billion each year?

From its trials, Compost Connect diverted over 4,500 tonnes of organic waste from landfill into nutrient rich compost. The Compost Connect network services over 2,200 postcodes, with the aim to increase to over 4,000 postcodes.

Source: Compost Connect