Here at F&F, we’re massive fans of composting — it’s one of the easiest things you can do to nourish your garden and reduce your food-related carbon emissions! That’s why we’re celebrating International Compost Awareness Week (ICAW) in the first week of May.
ICAW, which runs from the 2nd-8th of May, is a jam-packed week of events and activities to promote the importance of composting for your garden, your community and the environment.
Let’s learn a bit more about composting and how you can get involved in ICAW!
Firstly, what is composting?
If you’ve never composted before, you’re probably curious as to why there’s a whole week dedicated to celebrating it!
Composting is the process of decomposing organic materials like food scraps and wood/paper products. Compost (the end product) is a soil-like substance that can improve the soil structure, aeration and water retention of your garden or houseplants. It’s often called ‘Black Gold’ because it’s such an amazing product to help grow fruits, veggies, flowers, plants and herbs.
Composting works by layering wet and dry organic materials together in a bin or compost pile and allowing heat, moisture and time to work its magic. Soon enough, you’ll be left with a pile of dark, crumbly compost that can be mixed in with your existing garden soil!
Cut down your emissions by composting
By composting food scraps, we can drastically cut the amount of methane that is emitted from decomposing food scraps in landfill. Did you know that if global food waste was a country, it would be the third biggest emitter of greenhouse gases after the USA and China? That’s because we chuck all of this precious, wasted food in the bin, which is then dumped into landfill. Organics that break down anaerobically (without oxygen) in landfill produce methane — a potent greenhouse gas that is 80 times more harmful than CO2 over a twenty-year period.
In summary, composting:
- Turns your leftover food and garden scraps into a valuable resource for your garden and house plants
- Keeps your food scraps out of landfill
- Can save you money on fertilisers
- Reduces methane production
What is ICAW?
Did you know that ICAW has been running for 26 years? The event was originally established in Canada in 1995, then in 2006, the Centre for Organic Research & Education (CORE) initiated the event here in Australia. It’s also celebrated in the US and the UK!
To help spread the goodness of composting, ICAW has its very own ambassador — the wonderful Costa Georgiadis, aka “Costa the Composter”! You might’ve seen Costa on ABC’s Gardening Australia, which he’s hosted since 2012.
ICAW has three key goals
- Increase the diversion of organics from the main waste stream through increasing awareness of, and participation in, centralised composting, kerbside, home composting, community composting.
- Accelerate the uptake of compost products in the wider Australian community, “closing the loop” and stimulating effective use of “soil-improving composts”.
- Highlight the environmental, social and economic benefits of composting including the opportunity and drive to increase carbon in the soil and reduce carbon emissions.
What can I do during ICAW?
There are plenty of events to check out during ICAW, including workshops and information sessions about composting, permaculture, worm farming, and how to use Bokashi bins! There are events catered to beginner composters, advanced composters, and all types of gardening enthusiasts. You can even register your own event, which could be anything composting-related — like a gardening program, workshop, demonstration or tour. Check out all ICAW events here!
There’s also the #CelebrateICAW Photo Competition, which could put you in the running for some big prizes! Simply take a photo of your compost bin (at home or work), or a composting event that you’ve attended during ICAW and use the #CelebrateICAW hashtag on social media. Then, email your photos to info@core.asn.au by Friday 28th May. The lucky winners will be announced on the ICAW Facebook Page on Monday 7th June! Head to compostwweek.com.au for more information.
Composting at Home
If you’re curious about composting, this is the perfect time to get started! Composting at home is a lot easier than you might think, especially with F&F's Home Composting Products.
If you don’t have a large space to work with, or you’d prefer an odour-free indoor composting system, we recommend the Urban Composter and the Bokashi Bin! These fuss-free composting systems are compact, easy to use and really affordable.
For more information about how to get started with composting, take a look at these blogs on The Eco Hub:
