We throw away about 700 kilos of garbage per person every year.* For a family of five that works out to 70 kilos a week (or the equivalent of the Olsen twins - almost)! At this rate, NSW will run out of landfill by 2010. Of the garbage we (or hopefully our husbands, boyfriends, significant others) take out every week, 60% of it is food or organic matter. Food in landfill actually rots as there is no oxygen (which is required for food to decompose). As it rots, it emits methane gas which is 23 times stronger than carbon dioxide in its greenhouse gas impact. The good news is that science has discovered a cure for this kind of garbage…it is called the composter. Food in a compost decomposes, rather than rots, which greatly reduces the amount of methane not to mention the $4 billion a year we spend to manage the waste we produce.
Julia Roberts, Darryl Hannah and Pierce Bronson are devoted composters, but only 46% of Australians actually own a compost bin (down from 56% in 1996). Even if you have one, do you use it? Or, is it like one of those exercise machines you buy and plan to use every day but is now hidden under the bed?
I will come clean (no pun intended), I have only just started composting. The great thing is composting has had a serious makeover. No more smelly bins and flies. After much research, I selected the Aerobin 400 (I like to think of it as the Prada of Compost Bins). University tests concluded that it was a superior bin (it has a patented lung which helps break down matter) and it is made in Australia. Go to http://www.aerobin.com.au/ to order (they deliver for free to metro areas). Downside is it is a bit pricey ($379 - but you know what they say about quality). If you don’t have space, the Bokashi Bin is a great option. It is a small bin that can sit in the kitchen and uses a fermenting process to break down food. It is about $99 and you can get it at http://www.biome.com.au/shop_index.php?cPath=52.
My gorgeous friend Jen has also started composting and has halved her weekly garbage....now if only we could find a diet that worked as well. xxx
*Includes all municipal waste. Source: ABS, OECD, Australian Conservation Foundation
3 comments:
Hi Patty
I am really interested in many aspects of your blog but am particularly excited to discover “the prada of compost systems”. With 2 kids we are constantly horrified at the amount of waste we generate. We bought a worm farm some time ago but find they are way too slow to keep up with our output.
Am getting on line to buy an aerobin now!
Cheers, Claire
It's Claire again, the current aerobin is quite large, too big for our inner city space but they are launching 2 smaller versions quarter 1 next year. So for anyone with a similar issue, keep an eye on their website...
Hi Claire,
I should have been clearer about the size in my post...got carried away with the excitment of composting...thanks for letting the readers know...
Also, I did say in my post that there were no flies - which there aren't. However, you do get those tiny bugs inside the bin which apparently help the decomposing process. Just did not want to mislead anyone.
Hope the small bins come in soon.
Pattyxxx
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