Be a composter

MOSSEL BAY NEWS - There are exciting happenings on the Garden Route with regard to composting household organic waste and reducing the amount of rubbish going to the landfill sites.

Several months ago the Mossel Bay Advertiser reported on people participating in the home composting pilot project taking place in Mossel Bay.

Some residents who volunteered to take part in the pilot project were interviewed and they told how they got satisfaction from throwing their veggie peelings and so forth on to their compost heaps or into their green composting bins or worm boxes.

They told how their ornamental plants and also veggies grew well when they were watered with diluted worm "tea". The Advertiser published photographs of luscious, green plants given worm tea and their more yellowish, smaller counterparts that were not given the worm tea.

Here is an update from the Garden Route District Municipality spokesperson Herman Pieters, who responded to questions from the Advertiser on the home composting pilot projects being run by the district municipality in the region.

Mossel Bay Municipality
The year-long pilot project was concluded at the end of June.

A total of 10,4 tons of organic waste was composted by 34 households during the pilot project in Mossel Bay.

This is an average of 25,6kg of organic waste per household per month that was diverted from landfill. The composting was done by means of composting bins, worm farms and compost heaps.

Mossel Bay Municipality has procured additional composting bins and worm farms and is in the process of further rolling out the home composting programme. Mossel Bay Municipality and Garden Route District Municipality have met with five local schools in the Mossel Bay area to implement school composting programmes.

Large amounts of organic waste is generated from schools, such as vegetable and fruit peels from school hostels and feeding schemes and grass cuttings and garden waste from school and sports grounds.

This is also a perfect opportunity for awareness and education regarding composting, worm farms and organic waste diversion for the learners at the schools. Composting workshops with the responsible educators and identified learners (champions) at the identified schools will take place in October 2019.

Hessequa
The pilot project has been concluded.

A total of 3,5 tons of organic waste was composted by 22 households during the pilot project in Gouritzmond (period of one year).

This amounts to 13,28kg of organic waste per household per month diverted from landfill.

George
The year-long pilot project was launched in April and is ongoing. So 3,7 tons of organic waste was composted by 45 households from April to July 2019. This is an average of 20,5kg of organic waste per household per month diverted from landfill thus far.

Knysna
The pilot project was launched in Sedgefield in July and is still in progress. A total of 960kg of organic waste was reported from 24 households for the first month - July - which averages 40kg of organic waste per household.

The Home Composting Pilot Project will be rolled out in Bitou and Oudtshoorn Municipalities next. The project will be implemented in Kannaland Municipality at a later stage.

Home composting pilot volunteers commended
Pieters said: "GRDM and the local municipalities commend all the past and current participants who have enthusiastically weighed and reported their organic waste quantities on a monthly basis.

"The data collected during these pilot projects is invaluable. Please continue composting and encourage friends, family and neighbours to start diverting their organic waste by means of composting. They will be placing much-needed nutrients back into our soil."

If you took part in the home composting project in Mossel Bay, tell us about your experience. Email lindas@groupeditors.co.za or call 044 691 1768. We would also welcome your photographs of you and your composting apparatus or compost heaps and healthy plants watered with worm "tea".

Gideon Albert.