A community-based venture to reframe household food waste and transform it to fertiliser
This is a pilot study to examine the impact of community composting schemes to aid in reaching net-zero targets. This will be achieved through engaging local communities to enhance circular-economy opportunities, encouraging social interactions, behavioural changes and reducing food waste to land fill.
Reframing food waste as a valuable resource for the local community will enable citizens to contribute towards a circular economy and net zero. St Werberghs City Farm are keen to partner and establish a new project at their Community Gardens. Establishing a Ridan Pro compost system at this site will allow participants to learn and get hands-on in reducing food waste and producing a valuable compost resource. Seeds, education, and recipes will be provided, as well as grow kits to those who cannot access this space or would rather grow plants at home.
Project lead: Rob Graham, SRUC
Project members: Alex Montgomery, 50 Ways To Cook; Phil Haughton, Better Food; Sotirios Oikonomou, University of the West of England
Key findings
- People are excited to engage with community composting schemes.
- Participants have learnt a lot about the benefits of composting.
- Participants have observed how plants benefit from homemade compost.
- Urban food waste significantly improves the soil microbial carbon and the fungi:bacteria ratio.
Suggestions for further research
- What are the barriers preventing further uptake in community composting schemes?
- This project adopts a multifunctional approach, tackling urban soil health, urban food waste, and building community. What other multifunctional approaches can we adopt?
- How can a multifunctional and multilevel soil campaign influence public knowledge, attitudes, and behaviour regarding soil?
- Quantifying the environmental benefits of improving urban soil health. Water holding capacity, flooding, biodiversity, etc
- How can projects like this be successfully scaled to increase impact?
