HCC – for small buckets of scraps with nowhere else to go

HCCers meet Cass in Watson! Cass is a member of the HCC ‘targeted demographic’ as she lives in apartment with limited space for gardening or otherwise playing with soil etc.

Before I was in my late 30s and could finally afford to buy a house (with dual income, thanks Scott!) I lived in apartments/flats for years. Or rental houses, where I frankly wasn’t all that interested in setting up infrastructure such as a compost bin. So, I understand the desire to be responsible and sustainable with waste yet not really have the room or resources to do so. Cass was happy to join the HCC and know that her small volume of organic wastes were going to a better place than landfill.

That raises another pertinent point: Cass fills one of the small (2L) yogurt buckets each week. When I started the HCC some people didn’t think I would be interested in their scraps because they only generate a small amount. In fact the opposite is true! I’ve also had places like cafes and organisations offer to give me their kitchen waste ‘because they generate a lot’. I’ve been meaning to write a blog piece about how the aim of the HCC is not actually to produce compost… that’s merely a bonus. Suffice to say, the main aim is to avoid the generation of greenhouse gases from organic wastes and I think the best way to achieve that is to get as many people on board as possible in terms of being responsible with their waste. Some people are still not aware that sending our kitchen scraps to landfill is not the smartest move. But if each household can begin to consider alternatives then we can develop new systems around changed habits. Larger composting operations may be able to collect bulk food scraps from cafes and offices etc. and that is probably commercially viable to do so, especially as more organisations realise that that is a cost that they are willing to bear in exchange for other benefits. Collecting small bucketloads from households is a bit trickier. If enough people get on board, and follow my (very cheap!) suggested donations then it might become financially viable for the HCC. In the meantime I will continue to do what I can with the resources I have available 🙂

One other fantastic thing about Cass is that she is so committed to the composting cause that she is willing to talk about it with others. I didn’t actually realise that it was Cass’s word of mouth that led to another lovely member joining up (hello to Jen in Downer). Cass also remembered that although she uses the 2L buckets, I’m always a bit short for 3-5L buckets (perfect for larger households) so she made sure to nab an olive bucket from work and saved it from recycling. I’m always on the lookout for 3-5L post-consumer buckets (with lids) so thanks very much Cass!

So to anyone who is thinking of joining the HCC, especially if you live in an apartment or unit with limited outdoor space, and even if you don’t think you generate all that much in the way of scraps, you too could be cool like Cass!