Testing some compost options

By

T J Palli, intern with Sustainable House

 Hi all, I’m TJ, an intern at Sustainable House.

• T J demonstrating a compost option in a Chippendale footpath garden - a coolseat

Last Wednesday, 7 May, Michael and I showed four new interns (Mat, Zach, Tanuch, Landon) researching potential markets for coolseats some of the composting options in Chippendale’s footpath gardens and we discussed the advantages and disadvantages of each.

• Three of the four marketing interns, L to R: Mat, Landon, Zach

We started at a bottom hatch composter, which has a slidable lid at the base at ground level from which you can kneel to collect mature compost as it settles downwards. But to access the hatch you must kneel. The waist-height lid on top can make for a high access point when lifting heavy buckets of food waste into the bin.

We then moved to a tumbling composter and thought about how its main function of rotating might be made more difficult as the bin fills up with organic waste.

Finally, we looked at a cooleseat and compared it to the previous two composters.

The new interns noticed how much easier the compost was to access due to the seat/lid being just above knee height and the removable compost baskets.

• In this 4 minute:38 second video I show how I use some of the compost options in Chippendale’s footpath gardens.

As I demonstrated how the different composters worked mechanically, I also shared what I had learned about the composting process itself. I explained the importance of using a composting auger once a week to aerate the waste to help it break down faster, because it provides the microbes and worms with oxygen and helps maintain a high internal temperature. Most composts options need to be augured once a week. The coolseats support this aerobic process with wire mesh around the compost compartment, slits in the baskets, combined maintenance with an auger.

• Two marketing interns, L to R: Mat sitting on a coolseat outside Cafe Guilia, Tanuch carrying some recycled coffee bean bags to put under the cafe counter near where orders are taken - each bag is about one sixth full of compost harvested from the coolseats, each with a label stuck on, “Free compost”, for patrons to take away.

 As we explored the options, we collected compost from them to drop off at Café Giulia for their patrons. I enjoyed sharing everything I’ve learned so far about composting, as not too long ago I was in the same position as the new interns.

T J Palli, Intern