food waste – Michmutters

Tag: food waste

Categories
Australia

ACT partners with federal government to build new composting and recycling facilities, cut emissions by a third

Organic waste in a pile.

The federal government has announced $13 million in funding for a new large-scale composting facility in Canberra.

The facility will be built in Hume and will process food and garden waste collected from household green bins across the city.

City Services Minister Chris Steel said the new facility was an essential part of the food organics and garden organics (FOGO) rollout in the ACT.

“It will turn around 50,000 tonnes of food and organic waste into valuable compost for use in the agriculture and viticulture of our region, and gardens,” he said.

“This is incredibly important for climate change, this is our third largest source of emissions.”

‘True circular process’

Close up of an organic waste bin.
FOGO collection and processing is expected to cut the ACT’s waste emissions by 30 per cent. (ABC News: Harry Frost)

About 5,000 households in Belconnen, Bruce, Cook and Macquarie are currently trialling a FOGO collection system.

Mr Steel said that service would be expanded to include all ACT households once the new facility was up and running.

“This is going to be a fantastic story,” he said.

“This is Canberrans’ food waste that will be turned into compost, so that we can return those nutrients—which are otherwise going to landfill—to the soil to improve our soil and then grow our food again.

“So, it will be a true circular process.”

A person wearing a suit holds a green topped bin.
It’s not yet known what items will and won’t be allowed in the new FOGO processing stream. (ABC News: Harry Frost)

Mr Steel said a new $23 million recycling facility would also be built in Hume.

“We were partnering with [the federal government] to upgrade the existing facility to process our plastic, aluminium, paper and cardboard products, as well as glass,” he said.

“But as we’ve progressed through the design process, we’ve now come to the conclusion that it would be better for us to build a new state-of-the-art materials recovery facility adjacent to the existing site.”

He said the government would now go through a procurement process and he hoped both facilities would be operational within 18 months, though he noted the unpredictably of the current construction market.

Education key to FOGO success

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume.

PlayAudio. Duration: 9 minutes 29 seconds

Zero Waste Evolution chair Mia Swainson discusses the new Canberra composting facility.

Zero Waste Evolution chair Mia Swainson welcomed the funding injection and said a simple, targeted education program would be essential ahead of the FOGO facility coming online.

“The key is bringing Canberrans on the journey, making sure that people know what can go into the processing and what can’t,” she said.

“Depending on the technology, there’ll be different food and garden waste from around the house that can go in and some that can’t.

“So, keeping that contamination level down low will be really key to success.”

Ms Swainson said success would require a new way of thinking about waste for many Canberrans.

“Globally the trend is for… all of the organic waste to be recycled and reprocessed,” she said.

“Yes, it’s a bit of a change and a cultural shift, but, overtime people get used to it and it’s just how we build our lives.”

.

Categories
Business

Reason many Aussies are ditching supermarkets

Reason many Aussies are ditching supermarkets

Supermarkets are forcing many people to overspend, costing households an extra $1,200 each year, new research has revealed.

A survey of more than 2000 Australians found about two in five people frequently overspend their food budget and 82 per cent now splurge up to $200 on their weekly grocery shop.

The research, conducted by meal kit delivery service HelloFresh, also found 71 per cent of respondents were worried food items would continue to become more expensive.

Other key findings from the research found:

  • Ninety per cent of people are spending up to $100 per month on discounted impulse buys, while 88 per cent are doing the same for full-price impulse buys at the supermarket;
  • About two in five people frequently purchase discounted items they did not plan to buy; and
  • Three in five Australians are frequently traveling to multiple supermarkets to find all the ingredients they need for a meal.

The rising cost of food at supermarkets has led to some people turning to meal kit services.

Rebecca from Victoria told NCA NewsWire she used to shop at Coles and Woolworths, depending on which was closest to home or work on any given day.

“I would usually pop in multiple times throughout the week to get ingredients for dinner that night; I’d end up spending at least $40 every time I went into the supermarket, if not more,” she said.

“I switched to HelloFresh because I was getting tired of going through the same process every day when it came to thinking about dinner.

“I had to think about who’s around, what they’d want to eat and what I could be bothered making.

“Knowing that I wouldn’t have to do the mad dash to the supermarket after work was the biggest thing that made me swap to using HelloFresh.”

Rebecca’s partner has two children who are with them on weekends, so by making the move away from supermarkets, she says she is now saving about $100 per week.

HelloFresh chief executive and founder Tom Rutledge said his company offered a better value option for people wanting to save on dinner, while also saving time and reducing food waste.

“At this challenging time, it’s more important than ever that Aussies get the most out of their weekly food shop,” he said.

“As grocery prices go up and the cost of living continues to be a concern for Aussies, people are looking for better-value options for their groceries.

“We want to remind Aussies that there’s an alternative to shopping at the supermarket. By using HelloFresh, Aussies can save up to 24 per cent on the cost of dinner, while also saving time and food waste, with convenient home delivery and pre-portioned ingredients.”

.