Urban Farm to launch composting initiative

Christchurch, 28 April 2013 - Agropolis Urban Farm is building a new initiative to divert organic waste from central city hospitality businesses and commercial offices into its compost heaps. Inner city composting workshops using innovative biological methods and traditional approaches will help launch a new grassroots initiative to transform inner city organic waste. The work starts by teaching a wider network of people to use simple organic waste management processes in their own kitchens and home gardens who will then be able to apply their knowledge and experience to Agropolis’s inner city waste collection scheme.

Currently Agropolis composts organic waste from Shop Eight, C1 café, Community House and the kitchens of a number of Agropolis participants. As most offices and residents in the inner city are unable to access the Christchurch City Council's green-bin organic collection, Agropolis would like to prevent this organic material entering the city's landfills.

With a wider team of enthusiastic, skilled volunteers on board Agropolis will start collecting fresh organic waste from inner city locations using a donated bike from Gap Filler’s RAD Bikes and a bike trailer loaned by local waste management business Our Daily Waste. The collected waste will then be composted on site by Agropolis and the resulting rich organic medium then used to grow food at the transitional urban farm.

The workshops will be delivered by Neville Burt from Zing Bokashi and Paul and Mike Daly from EMNZ (Effective Microorganisms). The workshop is to be held on site at Agropolis, the corner of High and Tuam Streets, on Saturday 3 May from 10am – 1pm.

The use of EM or effective microorganisms and Bokashi originated in Japan in the 1980s and can be used to enhance soil fertility, plant health and also improve plant yield. These innovative and organic products will take kitchen waste and quickly turn it into a rich compost, generating a food source for your plants and soil. This decreases the need for synthetic fertilisers and also the waste going into our landfills.

ZingBokashi owner Neville Burt says, “we are excited to be involved with this initiative and the important job Agropolis Urban Farm is doing in helping restore plant life to the inner city and generally enhance city life.”

"This is an initiative that could lead to composting schemes for urban farms and community gardens around the city" says Agropolis co-founder Bailey Peryman. "It's closing the loop on organic waste to build fertile soils for producing nutritious food for our communities.”

Agropolis is made possible thanks to the landowners and the Life in Vacant Spaces Trust, and key supporters including inner city residents and volunteers, Soil & Health Canterbury, AECOM, Garden City 2.0 and the previous project lead, the Festival of Transitional Architecture.

ENDS

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