Compost on the side of the Mitchell Freeway.
Camera IconCompost on the side of the Mitchell Freeway. Credit: Supplied/Supplied

Compost from household waste to line verges of Mitchell Fwy extension

Lucy JarvisNorth Coast Times

ABOUT 12,000 tonnes of compost made from household waste lines the verges of the Mitchell Freeway extension to Hester Avenue.

The Mindarie Regional Council (MRC) has provided the composted soil conditioner, created at the Neerabup Resource Recovery Facility (RRF) from organic material thrown into green-lid rubbish bins in the northern suburbs.

“It is great to see this composted product being beneficially used back into the community from where it was sourced,” MRC chairman Russ Fishwick said.

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According to the MRC, large-scale civic partners are recognising that building up soil carbon levels improves its water-holding capacity, increases nutrient retention and helps establish new plants and trees.

It can reduce ongoing maintenance costs as there are fewer plants that need replacing and weeds can be controlled.

Composted products can be better than using shredded green waste, which can lead to a spread of weeds and diseases.

C-Wise is a commercial composting company that markets the RRF product.

“Building soil carbon is one of the most important things we can do to create healthy and productive soils – recycling organics wastes is a great way to do this,” C-Wise co-founder Andy Gulliver said.

“Taking the community’s organic wastes and turning them into useful products is a great solution.”

The Neerabup facility uses multiple stages of refining to produce compost used in local agriculture, rehabilitation projects and intensive soil management activities.

Supplied exclusively by the MRC, the plant receives 100,000 tonnes of household waste material in a year and diverts 51 per cent of waste from landfill.

SUEZ WA infrastructure manager Craig Barker said the RRF operator was pleased to be involved in the project.

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