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Food Waste Loop
About the Food Waste Loop project:
Yandina Community Gardens program, Food Waste Loop, diverts food ‘waste’ from Yandina’s food businesses into compost systems.
Yandina Community Gardens have created a localised waste management system. We have partnered with cafes, restaurants, coffee roastery’s, and grocery stores and divert the towns waste into three different compost systems. These are aerobic hot compost, worm farm composting, and black soldier fly larvae composting! We are recording how much of Yandina town waste we are able to process, and evaluating the viability of the Food Waste Loop program to be replicated across Australia.
This program reduces greenhouse gas emissions generated by landfills, whilst creating a valuable, nutrient-rich compost resource. We imagine a future where food ‘waste’ was actually not wasted, and was turned into an amazing resource for the local community to enjoy.
The Australian Government has committed to halve the amount of organic waste sent to landfill for disposal by 2030, as per the National Waste Policy Action Plan. This means a reduction of 2.7 million tonnes of organic waste that is currently thrown out and ends up in landfill. The township of Yandina is playing a direct role in helping meet these targets. We are working towards easing the load on the following issues:
• Eliminating global food waste would save 4.4 million tonnes of C02 a year, the equivalent of taking one in four cars off the road
• If food waste was a country, it would be the third biggest emitter of greenhouse gases after USA and China
• The Government estimates food waste costs the Australian economy $20 billion each year
• Over 5 million tonnes of food ends up as landfill each year, enough to fill 9,000 Olympic sized swimming pools
• Landfill gas contributes 15 million tonnes to Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions.
OzHarvest, 2020
The Food Waste Loop program commenced June 2020. This project received grant funding from the Australian Government’s Communities Environment Program.
To share the journey with us, follow us on Facebook (Yandina Community Gardens), and Instagram (@ycgfoodwasteloop)
Are you passionate about Sustainability? Are you our new Project Officer?
Are you passionate about sustainability? Are you good at working with people? Do you enjoy problem solving? Delivering projects? Able to work autonomously and are self-motivated? And most importantly do you want to make a positive difference to your community?
Then here’s an exciting opportunity for you! The Yandina Community Gardens (YCG) is looking for an energetic and experienced person for a project officer role. YCG has received funding to implement a Food Waste Diversion pilot project in the town of Yandina on the Sunshine Coast. The project is for 12 months and you will be required to collaborate with approximately 20 businesses to divert their food waste. The role will be approximately 10hrs per week.
Why is this such an important project?
•If food waste was a country, it would be the third biggest emitter of greenhouse gases after USA and China.
•Eliminating global food waste would save 4.4 million tonnes of C02 a year, the equivalent of taking one in four cars off the road.
•The Government estimates food waste costs the Australian economy $20 billion each year.
•Over 5 million tonnes of food ends up as landfill, enough to fill 9,000 Olympic sized swimming pools.
The project officer will work with YCG’s management committee and will need to develop and implement a system for business food waste collection and measuring. You will be involved in processing the food waste at the Yandina Community Gardens using a combination of vermiculture, black soldier fly larvae and composting.
Your experience in project implementation and evaluation will be very important for this pilot project.
Required skills / knowledge:
•tertiary qualifications and/or experience in environmental science, permaculture or related discipline.
•experience in planning, implementing and evaluating community projects.
•experience in composting and or worm farming.
•experience in community engagement and developing partnerships with stakeholders
•excellent communication and networking skills
•an understanding of environmental sustainability principles.
•Ability to perform moderate physical work, lifting will be required
If this sounds like a role for you, please send your application, addressing the required skills / knowledge to info@yandinacommunitygardens.com.au we look forward to hearing from you!
Applications close 14th February 2020.