Centre for Organic Research and Education (CORE), Media Release, 22 April 2022
The impact of global warming on climatic weather patterns has become unmistakeably obvious. Severe storms, extreme flood events and droughts are expected to occur more frequently into the future. The scale of the problem is clearly demonstrated in Australia by the recent severe flooding events in New South Wales and Queensland which have caused loss of life, severe property damage and resulted in severe environmental damage from pollution caught in the runoff. More rubbish has entered our oceans and waterways in these floods than decades of litter from plastic and other gross pollutants.
Flooding and drought are part of the natural cycles of the planet. However, urban development has covered our natural drainage with impermeable surfaces such as roads, roofs, pavements and together with poor agricultural soils there is no avenue for flood waters to naturally infiltrate. Converting our cities, towns and agricultural lands to Sponge City techniques using Australian infiltration technologies is the answer to building resilience to flooding and drought.
Research conducted by the Centre for Organic Research & Education (CORE) has developed recycled content technologies that can turn cities and farmlands into Sponges that can adapt to more frequent flooding and drought events to reduce the risk they present to our communities. Stormwater management technologies using specially manufactured composts are proven actions we can take across the whole catchment to make our land less vulnerable to the effects of changing weather patterns. Utilising compost to cultivate healthier soils with a sponge-like ability to capture and retain water, can contribute to less stormwater runoff and reduce nuisance flooding.
“We are proud that our researchers have come up with a way to use our community recyclables to solve these ever-present threats and significantly contribute to human sustainability” says Eric Love, Chairman of the Centre for Organic Research & Education (CORE). “We can all help by composting garden and food scraps in our own gardens or participating in kerbside collections.
“Adding more compost to the soil through gardening, urban drainage systems and agriculture practices will increase infiltration and add carbon to the soil that can favourably change the planet’s current disproportionate carbon balance, which is one of the main cases of damaging climatic effects”, continues Eric Love. “Avoiding organic waste going to landfill by recycling will also greatly help to reduce harmful emissions. These are things we can each do to reduce the impacts of climate change”.
Compost acting as soil sponges can hold much more water than regular soil and is crucial in establishing a much better environment for rainfall absorption, infiltration, moisture retention and plant growth. It helps soil retain water, reduce overflow and binds nutrients to soil particles to prevent them from leaching out into our waterways, while making them available to plants so they can take them up as needed to improve their health. Healthy soils = healthy plants = healthy water = healthy people.
Every household can start to create their own soil sponge for their garden by composting their own organic food and garden waste. Contributing to the kerbside organic collection system will also divert waste from being locked up in landfills which causes the generation of emissions. Properly composted, organic carbon will then be sequestered back into soils, and its nutrients recycled. By returning these nutrients back to the soil we can improve its health and biodiversity, rather than letting organic waste rot away in landfills. If we all do this, it will add up to the equivalent of a rain forest in reducing the impacts of climate change.
May 1st to 7th marks International Compost Awareness Week (ICAW) in Australia. This is a week during which Australians are encouraged to promote the importance and benefits of composting in their local communities. CORE, a not-for-profit charity has been championing this international awareness campaign exclusively in Australia for 17 years. ICAW has contributed to reducing organic waste going to landfill and at the same time improving biodiversity in our soils and building up its resilience to extreme weather events.
Mayor of Penrith City Council Tricia Hitchen said the benefit of separating Food Organics Garden Organics (FOGO) into the green-lidded bin means it can be reused back into the community as nutrient rich compost, to improve soil conditions and enhance growth.
“Penrith’s FOGO compost is contributing to the circular economy, as it is being applied in the form of Nitro Top Dressing supplied by Australian Native Landscapes to resurface sporting fields across Penrith, to improve overall playing conditions,” Cr Hitchen said.
“The children of Penrith’s Childcare centres are celebrating ICAW by getting their hands dirty. Each centre was supplied with a Vegepod garden bed, FOGO compost and vegetable seedlings, providing an opportunity for children to understand the circular economy of food organics through growing their own produce,” Cr Hitchen said.
Platinum sponsors of this year’s campaign are the Queensland Department of Environment & Science and Penrith City Council, Silver sponsor is the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) and Bronze sponsor is Ku-ring-gai Council.
