With grocery bills still stretching household budgets, banana peels, potato skins and forgotten leftovers could become free garden gold for those willing to rethink what goes in the bin.
A free online workshop, Turn Your Food Waste into Garden Gold with Paul West, will be held at 3pm on Saturday 13 June, showing residents how to turn household food scraps into compost, worm farm feed and nutrients for plants.
End Food Waste Australia says the average household throws 265kg of food waste in the bin each year, while food wasted at home can cost households up to $2500 a year, or $50 a week, based on the value of food bought but not eaten.
However, Grow It Local co-founder Mr West said food scraps did not need to become waste.
“What is food waste? Is it the leftovers we couldn’t finish, the milk that we forgot, the peel from the potatoes that we just roasted?” he said.
“I don’t think these things necessarily have to be waste.
“I think they become waste when we put them in the bin and they are shipped off to landfill to rot in the ground with the rest of our garbage.”
Logan City Council Waste and Energy Committee chair councillor Miriam Stemp said small changes at home could add up.
“Things like composting and worm farming are simple, family-friendly activities that can help turn your everyday kitchen scraps from food waste into food fuel,” Cr Stemp said.
Cr Stemp said about 470 Logan households who were Grow It Local members were already composting or using worm farms, collectively diverting more than one tonne of food waste from landfill each week.
Logan City Council’s event listing says Mr West will share practical tips on what food waste can and cannot be used, how to make compost, how to keep a worm farm and options for people living in apartments or smaller spaces.
Mr West said residents did not need a big backyard, expensive equipment or a perfect garden set-up to get started.
“Why chuck our leftover food bits in the bin to become waste, when we can keep them, introduce them to some friendly microbes and turn those scraps into gold for the garden,” he said.
“You don’t need a lot of space, effort or fancy equipment to create your own garden gold.
“There’s a stack of different methods that you could use, depending on your unique circumstances.”
Logan City Council’s website says residents can also apply for a compost bin and worm farm rebate of up to $50.
The workshop is free, but registration is required.
The council partnered with Grow It Local to give Logan residents free access to expert advice, resources and workshops that would otherwise require a paid subscription.
Logan residents must register for a free Grow It Local membership before booking into the workshop.
Bookings are available at growitlocal.com/event/turn-your-food-waste-into-garden-gold.
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