Victorian councils are getting their hands dirty and putting recycled garden organics to work.
The City of Greater Geelong recently hosted a workshop that dug into all things soil health and recycled organics. The workshop educated Geelong council officers on the benefits of using locally produced compost in their projects and landscaping, as well as using compost to improve soils in urban areas.
The discussion, led by passionate soil scientist Declan McDonald, covered soil testing, soil carbon, and soils for land care, native plantations, and wetlands.
'They had a great turnout with over 65 council officers and council contractors showing interest in the session,' said Sustainability Victoria's own soil expert Andrew Dougall. 'Just like farmers, our local governments need to manage some challenging soils in parks and gardens. Recycled organics can help them do this and make our green spaces more vibrant.'
The session was supported by Sustainability Victoria as part of a $43,520 grant which is being used by the council to turn the garden organics collected from Geelong households' garden bins into a locally composted garden blend and potting mix.
The new garden blend and potting mix are being trialed in the Geelong Botanical Gardens and the Geelong West community garden, and are also available for purchase.
Sustainability Victoria awarded more than $510,000 to 8 Victorian councils to increase their use of high-quality compost sourced from households' food organics and garden organics collections.
This is one of the ways Sustainability Victoria is working across councils and industry to build end markets for recycled organics to ensure these valuable materials in garden bins are returned to the land.
Sustainability Victoria has also produced a handy guide for council officers interested in using more recycled organics in their landscaping and parks and gardens projects.
