Liquid gold from apartment waste a Sydney first

 

An Erskineville community vegetable garden is set for a bumper harvest with residents from ten apartments using a giant urban worm farm to convert their food waste to a free garden fertiliser.

The farm holds around 24,000 worms producing 20 litres of concentrated ‘worm juice’ fertiliser a week. It’s the first of its size to be used by a residential community in Sydney and is a trial by the Green Living Centre, a joint initiative of City of Sydney and Marrickville Council.

Lord Mayor Clover Moore praised residents of Sydney’s first apartment block for working together in preventing food waste from ending up in landfill.

“Food waste makes up about a third of all household waste, that could be turned into compost at home instead of going in the garbage bin,” the Lord Mayor said.

“These residents have joined forces for a more sustainable future and they are great role models for us all. There is a great sense of community pride to be achieved by living sustainably and sharing the experience with your neighbours in this way.”

The giant worm farm is being stored in the apartment’s underground car park. Each week, the worms digest around 20 kilos of food scraps, and the resulting 20 litres of worm juice is diluted to create 200 litres of regular fertiliser.

Mayor of Marrickville Jo Haylen said large community worm farms like this are helping pave the way towards a waste-free future.

“They’re easy to keep, they don’t smell, and the worms will consume over one tonne of food scraps a year,” Mayor Haylen said.

“Plus, they connect people. Neighbours learn each other’s names while doing their bit to live sustainably together. These simple initiatives are helping make our environment better and our communities stronger.”

Green Living Centre Project Manager Mithra Cox said worms are experts at handling large quantities of food waste and helping the environment by diverting this waste from ever ending up in landfill.

“Worm farms are a great natural way to reduce waste,” Ms Cox said. “Having a worm farm is relatively low maintenance and if looked after properly, the worm numbers quickly multiply to allow even more food waste to be processed.”

“Worm juice is the most powerful, easily absorbed fertiliser you can feed a plant – it really is miracle stuff. It’s like liquid gold for your garden and a natural nutrient-rich soil builder that herbs and veggies love.”

For more information visit City of Sydney