Gippsland to increase locally produced recycled compost through kerbside FOGO
A major expansion of the Gippsland Regional Organics facility at Dutson Downs in Gippsland will increase the plant’s capacity to process organic waste into compost by 70,000 tonnes to 250,000 tonnes.
The project will make it easier for Victorians’ recycling to be transformed into quality compost products that will enrich local agriculture and improve soil quality on local farms.
This project is one of the ways Sustainability Victoria is partnering with industry to ensure more recycled product is available at a larger scale, and that recycled products are used instead of virgin materials.
‘Food scraps from the community will form part of this compost being added to a pasture,’ explains Sustainability Victoria’s Manager Markets Acceleration Shannon Smyth.
‘This is probably the most accessible and circular option in terms of transforming waste into a new product and being able to present that to a market,’ he says. ‘People can actually buy recycled product that was once the food waste being generated from their kitchens and gardens.’
'Our facility takes organic waste – including green waste, biosolids from our wastewater treatment plants, industrial and reportable priority waste – and transforms it into certified Australian standard compost.'
The $12.2 million upgrade to the facility, owned and run by Gippsland Water, is funded by a combined $4.8 million from Sustainability Victoria’s Circular Economy Organics Sector Transformation Fund and the Australian Government’s Food Waste for Healthy Soils Fund.
‘Gippsland Regional Organics is already well established as one of the best examples of a circular economy businesses in the state,’ says Gippsland Water Managing Director Sarah Cumming.
‘Our facility takes organic waste – including green waste, biosolids from our wastewater treatment plants, industrial and reportable priority waste – and transforms it into certified Australian standard compost.’
Gippsland Regional Organics is one of the largest organic waste recycling facilities in the state, employing 21 people. This expansion will support 33 jobs during construction and up to 8 new ongoing positions.
With construction on the expanded facility expected to be completed in December 2024, Sustainability Victoria’s Organics Industry Development Lead Andrew Dougall says, ‘Gippsland Regional Organics is thinking ahead by installing the capacity needed to process organics from new kerbside food organics and garden organics services. They’re now able to supply more of the high-quality compost needed by the vibrant agricultural industries in Gippsland, right at their doorstep.’