Category: Blog
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Open day re-cap and local (zero waste!) coffee
Last month we had the 3rd HCC open day. As per the other two open days there were plenty of folks curious to see how it was all managed, in terms of processing food scraps from lots of local households in a relatively small space. This time it was also a mini-working bee though, with…
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Waste-wise at Polo Restaurant
When people first hear about the HCC a common ‘helpful suggestion’ is that I should ask cafes and other places that generate large amounts of food waste, if I can take it off their hands. This is the traditional business model for organics recycling: where so-called waste (no $ value) is given for free and…
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Valuing composting services
I want to write today about something I tend to be a bit sheepish about: asking people for money. Last year I was willing to run the HCC for free. Some community members wanted to pay me for compost that I was donating back, others gifted me lovely things like homemade preserves, so it certainly…
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HCC branching out
It’s been a bit quiet here on the blog but rest assured that the heap has been humming away and there is more afoot at the HCC besides. I’ve been working hard to see how the HCC can divert more and more of Canberra’s household organics from landfill. For that we need more households to…
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Spreading the compost love
The current compost bays at HCC headquarters are pretty much at capacity. I’m always tempted to try and squeeze more and more feedstock in because, after all, any material that ends up getting composted instead of going to landfill is a win for our environment. And it’s hard to say exactly when capacity is reached…
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Mouse eviction! Or how to fix up an under-active compost bin
Probably the most common problem that can occur with backyard composting is attracting pests, particularly the rodent kind. The inside of a plastic compost bin is insulated from the elements and full of tasty treats so it’s easy to see why they are attracted to it. Another aspect of the average backyard composter is that…