Cool compost

Compost made from kerbside food and garden organics has significant environmental benefits. This nutrient-rich matter cools and nourishes the soil, improves water retention, increases yield, and lowers maintenance needs. Applying compost to land assists in reversing urban and rural land degradation, sequesters carbon from the atmosphere and is key to meeting sustainability and circularity targets.

To promote the benefits of compost, we have developed Cool Compost, a unique program in partnership with Circular Australia to increase awareness of these benefits to 5 key audiences – graziers, vegetable growers, councils, landscapers and urban planners, and government agencies.

Program aims

• ensure strong markets for the increased supply of compost from kerbside food and garden waste
• increase knowledge and awareness of the benefits of compost
• assist in the development of new and innovative markets for compost made from recycled organics.

Benefits of compost

Cool Compost builds on the $7.5 million Organics Market Development (OMD) program supporting activities to ensure strong, robust markets for the increased supply of compost made from kerbside food and garden waste. The OMD grants funded 38 projects which demonstrated the benefits of compost in a wide range of settings including agriculture, horticulture, on sporting fields, in mine and roadside rehabilitation, and urban amenity.

These videos show how using compost delivers benefits across a range of markets, and keeps food and organic waste out of landfill, resulting in long-term circular outcomes.

• Councils
  How compost can deliver circular solutions for councils. We showcase how councils are trialling waste reduction initiatives to achieve sustainability and circularity goals.

• Landscapers and urban designers
  How compost is transforming urban design and development in Australia. We talk to an environmental consultant about how compost can improve your overall sustainability rating, and we hear from a housing developer that’s leading the way in sustainable suburbs

• Vegetable growers
  How Aussie vegetable growers can transform crops with commercial compost. We talk to a vegetable grower who trialled compost made from supermarket food waste and hear from experts about the growing opportunities for the horticulture industry as food and garden organics waste collection ramps up across NSW.

• Graziers
  How commercial compost boosts soils and profits. Find out how compost can help graziers improve soil health, grow better pastures and increase productivity. We talk to a grazier who used compost to transform his farming landscape from dirt poor to rich pasture and hear from an environmental scientist on the power of pelletised compost to boost crop yields.

• Government agencies
  How compost can help government agencies meet their recycled content targets. We discuss what’s on the horizon for compost, and hear about a case study that increased awareness and uptake of compost in roadside rehabilitation.