Free locally made compost will be on offer when the City of Greater Geelong teams up with six community gardens and one primary school for a community compost giveaway day on Saturday, 13 May 2023.
The community giveaway coincides with International Compost Awareness Week (Sunday 7 May – Saturday 13 May 2023).
Currently, the City is converting about 35,000 tonnes of garden waste from residential green bins into Australian standard compost each year at a processing facility in Anakie.
This initiative ensures household garden waste doesn't end up in landfill. Instead, the green waste is transformed into high-quality compost for City-managed sites, including the botanic gardens, sports grounds, and parks.
The compost has proven popular among community gardens and garden clubs, with residents now able to buy it for their personal use via several local gardening centres.
To celebrate the success of the product, residents will be able to pick up free samples of high-quality compost made from the contents of green waste bins.
Residents are encouraged to bring their own container, such as a bucket or old potting mix bag, to minimise the packaging needed at each site.
Gold coin donations to the community gardens are encouraged but optional.
The City will donate any remaining compost to the participating community gardens:
- Grinter Garden, 125 Coppards Road, Moolap (behind Splashdown)
- Surfside Primary School Kitchen Garden, John Dory Drive Ocean Grove
- Lara Community Garden, Scuti Court, Lara (next to the Lara and District Mens Shed)
- Barwon Heads Community Garden, 38 Geelong Road, Barwon Heads
- Geelong West Community Garden, 129 Autumn Street, Geelong West
- Grovedale Community Garden, 45-47 Heyers Road, Grovedale
- Hope Community Garden, Cultura Arunga Avenue, Norlane (Behind Bunnings)
Educational materials will be provided to residents on the day, to help reinforce good habits around what goes into the green waste bins.
The information was part of a wider campaign to reduce contaminants going into green bins.
The City-made compost is available for purchase at the following local outlets:
- Wallington's Water Rural Garden, 370 Grubb Road, Wallington
- South Point Garden Supplies, 15 Boneyards Avenue, Torquay
- Elcho Garden Supplies, 180 Elcho Road, Lara
