By Max Davies
An Epping resource recovery company has donated garden mix soil and compost to five community gardens across the City of Whittlesea to celebrate five years of operation.
Repurpose It is a company that receives recovered resources from commercial and residential sites across the City of Whittlesea, which are then screened, blended with internally produced products, and tested before being supplied back to the market.
The community gardens of Whittlesea, Lalor, Links Lalor, and Creed Farm, as well as the Little Learners Education Centre, all received donations last week.
Repurpose It general manager John McCluskey said the company operated with a focus on its community.
“We’ve donated compost to the [Lalor Community] garden, and it’s a full circular economy as the compost actually started off as food and garden organic waste collected from the local Whittlesea community through the curbside bin collection,” he said.
“It’s brought to our facility, where it’s then turned into compost, and then the compost is supplied back to the garden for the growing of new plants.”
Repurpose It works to improve soil health by repurposing waste that would usually go to landfill for use in the community, allowing people to access organic resources made in the City of Whittlesea.
Lalor Community Garden treasurer Rachel Alport said the donation would help improve the garden for all people who used it.
“The donation is a brilliant help – it’ll help regenerate everyone’s plots and they’ll be able to grow some awesome produce come spring,” she said.
The community gardens initiative allows City of Whittlesea communities to engage with the gardens, providing an opportunity for people to contribute to soil and compost used to grow plants, including fruits and vegetables, which can then be enjoyed by the community.
Repurpose It chief executive George Hatzimanolis said the circular economy model would help keep products in the City of Whittlesea and reduce environmental impacts.
“We are always looking to engage with the local community, especially where we can work with the local council on their recycling programs,” he said.
“We’d love to invite anyone who lives in the City of Whittlesea to drop off their hard green waste directly to [Repurpose It] where we will transform it into premium products.
“We hope this helps individuals personally feel part of the circular economy.”
City of Whittlesea residents are encouraged to drop off garden organics for free at Repurpose It’s facility at 460 Cooper Street, Epping. For more information, visit www.repurposeit.com.au.