While households around the country are turning food scraps into compost for their gardens, it is often highly impractical for restaurants and other services where organic waste is generated to do likewise.
In a City where dining out is a particularly attractive experience and hotels, resorts and restaurants abound, Council in partnership with a subsidiary of Queensland Lime and Cement, has developed a radical pilot scheme to find ways of utilising waste organic product from the hospitality industry.
The aim is for the Redden Street landfill site to turn 10,000 tonnes of waste per annum into crop fertiliser. The proposal will see food waste from the hotels and resorts separated from the waste stream. Mixed with lime it can be turned into reusable organic material suitable for providing nutrients to farms.
“Cairns City Council will provide the facility and the waste to conduct the research and refinement,” said Mayor Tom Pyne. “The obvious benefit for this City is that a massive amount of material which would otherwise make its way into the ground will be extracted and reused.
“Any plan to eliminate waste from our stream and so reduce the amount eventually making its way to the City’s landfill is a step in the right direction.”
He said that the trial will determine how successfully separated organic waste, such as food, can be stabilised using modern treatment equipment to be processed into long term viability.
“What we have here is Pacific Lime offering to cover all costs associated with a pilot project which will break new ground in waste reduction and reuse,” the Mayor said.
Pacific Lime has researched the market viability and believe there will be demand for the revolutionary end product which they expect to call Impurval.
For further information contact Colette McCool, General Manager City Services, telephone (07) 4044 3044.
