Life on the West Island - Organics – OK?

Our West Island shire has a sensible and successful scheme for organic materials to be recycled into “soil improver” compost.

At no charge, every household in the shire is supplied with a rectangular three litre kitchen bin for collecting organic materials and our local council also provides free rolls of biodegradable bin liners. When full, the bags are placed into green wheelie bins, which are collected each week.

Each kitchen bin has a label explaining which items may be recycled as follows:

• · Fruit and vegetable scraps and peels
• · Meat, fish and bones
• · Tea bags, tea leaves and coffee grounds
• · Egg shells
• · Pasta, bread and cereal
• · Dairy products
• · Plate scrapings
• · Soiled paper, paper towels and tissues
• · Flowers
• · Cake, biscuits and sweets

(Note: NO plastic wrapping or bags)

The materials collected weekly are transported to a large processing plant, where they are treated under very high temperatures and a soil-like compound is produced and packed into 25-litre bags. Because of the high temperature treatment, this “soil improver” does not contain any bacterial matter, but can be mixed with garden soils or enhanced with organic fertiliser to produce an excellent potting mix or plant raising medium.

Each August every household in the shire can collect six bags of soil improver compost – just in time for spring garden plantings. In turn, the bags in which it is packed can then be recycled.

We live in a complex of 58 apartments, which are surrounded by large areas of gardens containing shrubs, trees and flowering plants, plus an area set aside for raised beds of herbs and vegetables. Last year, our council had a surplus of soil improver, so this week they delivered to us a pallet - free of charge – holding 64 bags of “OK Organics” soil improver for our communal gardens. There were also five large truckloads of free woodchip compost to be spread over the gardens to reduce water evaporation.

So, for much of this week groups of residents armed with wheelbarrows, forks, spades and rakes have been busily spreading the woodchips, weeding, mulching existing plants and using the soil improver, mixed with garden soil, to plant new flowering shrubs and trees. Our communal gardens now look great!

Our council is happy to supply the complimentary bins and bin liners, plus to fund the green wheelie bins and collection trucks because the OK Organics scheme has resulted in around a 35% reduction in waste materials going to landfill - with commensurate savings. It also has a comprehensive recycling scheme for bottles, cans, paper, cardboard and hard plastics, thus further reducing the “garbage” component of waste management by a further 30%. The materials collected in the yellow recycling wheelie bins are mostly sorted by service club members to redeem deposits on bottles and cans and so help to fund local and national charities.

All in all, the OK Organics scheme for comprehensive treatment of organic and recycling waste is a win/win for our shire which is now spreading to other West Island communities.

Organics – okay as “soil improver” rather than in the garbage bin. OK Organics is OK with all of us!