Success Stories

Adelaide: A Composting Success Story

Team Compost Connect, 30 November 2023
Adelaide: A Composting Success Story

Adelaide: Leading the Composting Charge

A true quiet achiever, the City of Adelaide has been working hard behind the scenes to implement widespread composting initiatives and show its commitment to positive environmental change.

So far, through the combined efforts of its residents and the City Council of Adelaide, the city has made a remarkable impact. From Rundle Mall trailing an organics recycling bin to the WOMADelaide festival committed to achieving a zero-waste-to-landfill status – Adelaide has emerged as a shining example of successful composting initiatives. Something other cities and towns across Australia can be inspired by.

The below video explores how Adelaide is leading the composting charge.

In this video, you hear from:
  • Jane Lomax-Smith, Lord Mayor of the City of Adelaide, has spearheaded many initiatives to keep Adelaide environmentally friendly while overseeing the city’s governance and development.
  • Joshua Baker, the passionate owner of Clever Little Tailor, where compostable packaging and proper waste segregation are used to reduce waste in their establishment.
  • Marty Jeffries, the Managing Director at 4th generation composter, Jeffries Group.
  • Hugh Scoobie, the dedicated Sustainability Officer for WOMADelaide, ensuring the festival’s adoption of a zero-waste-to-landfill strategy.
  • Charlie Sykes, the Managing Director of Australian Green Clean, a company committed to providing environmentally friendly cleaning and waste management solutions.
  • Gary Smith, the CEO of BioPak, a market leader in sustainable packaging solutions.

How Adelaide’s Empowering Businesses and People to Reduce Waste

Rundle Mall

In collaboration with Green Industries SA and the City Council of Adelaide, Rundle Mall is the first retail precinct to trial a new multi-bin system, encouraging visitors to sort their food waste, compostable packaging, and cans and bottles.

The 12-month trial set out to educate consumers about recycling and composting and encourage surrounding vendors to switch to certified compostable packaging options.

Since launching the program, it’s helped replace over 20,000 single-use plastics with compostable products (source). And they’re not stopping there. This program has not only educated businesses and consumers, it’s nurtured a positive, environmentally responsible culture.

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Three bins in Adelaide’s Rundle Mall, including a waste bin, food and compostable packaging bin and recycling bin

Adelaide City Council

A 2019 bin audit in the city of Adelaide found that 43 percent of the kerbside red waste bin contained compostable material, which could’ve been recovered if placed in a green organic bin.

In response to these findings, the City Council of Adelaide supports composting by providing green organics collections for residents – this includes free kitchen caddies for home composting and a green organics bin system for proper waste segregation. This encourages people to dispose of organic waste correctly, transforming it into nutrient-rich compost for local gardens, farms, and urban green spaces.

We should encourage other local councils to follow suit. Find out if your council composts today.

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Randwick-City-Council-FOGO-kitchen-caddy

WOMADelaide

WOMADelaide is a world-renowned music and arts festival held annually in Botanic Park, Adelaide. The festival prides itself on its commitment to the environment and has worked hard to minimise its environmental footprint, while also offering a world-class experience. WOMADelaide is committed to achieving a zero-waste-to-landfill status. Currently, WOMADelaide:
  • Has prevented over 150,000 single-use cups
  • Eliminated over 1.25 tonnes of plastic waste
  • Diverted 97.5% of waste away from landfill
Two volunteers helping a festival goer dispose of her clear bioplastic cup and paper straw.

Local initiatives

It’s not just the city council and events like WOMADelaide making an impact in Adelaide. We should also champion the local residents and small businesses who have committed to doing their bit.

Whether it’s a homeowner who has implemented an organic bin or the owner of a cafe, like Joshua Baker from Clever Little Tailor, where compostable packaging and proper waste segregation are used to reduce waste.

And let’s not forget, it’s because of businesses like the Jeffries Group – a leading commercial compost facility – that organic recycling is possible on a large scale.

FIND OUT MORE

Heavy machinery shovelling soil into a truck

Adelaide, Inspiring Australia

Adelaide’s successful composting initiatives should inspire the rest of Australia to jump on board. It shows that the implementation of environmentally friendly waste management practices is possible, and together, we can make a lasting impact on the environment.

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