Maggots could soon be deployed to reduce the amount of food scraps from Sydney households ending up in landfill.
Key points:
- Clover Moore backs insect farming as an alternative to composting food scraps
- Food scraps make up about one-third of Sydney household bins
- Maggots can convert food scraps into animal feed and fertiliser in about two weeks
Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore has asked the council to investigate a trial of insect farming to deal with food waste as a cheaper and environmentally “superior” alternative to current composting methods.
Citing the success of a local company using black soldier fly larvae, Ms Moore said the emerging technology had not yet been tested by the council but had shown promising results.
“We expect this processing technique to deliver superior environmental benefits as it should result in net positive carbon emissions by producing sustainable animal feed and fertiliser,” she said in a proposal to be discussed at Monday’s council meeting.
“In addition, the processing infrastructure required for insect farming is modular, scalable, and cost-effective compared to other food organic processing technology, making the cost per tonne very competitive.”
From July 2019 to October 2021, the city ran a food scraps collection trial for 20,000 selected households, using anaerobic digestion and composting to save more than 738 cubic metres of landfill space.
Ms Moore proposed switching those households, whose food scraps continue to be collected separately, onto an insect farming trial.
“Results of this trial can be used to inform how the city will deliver a food organics service to all of our residents,” she said.
Slow progress
Australia has a goal to halve organic waste going to landfill but progress has been slower than anticipated, forcing the federal government to move the deadline from the end of this year to 2030.
Only a quarter of councils in Australia offer a separate collection service, with just three councils in Sydney rolling out FOGO (food organics garden organics) bins to all residents.
The food waste that is recycled has been turned into high-grade compost or biogas but a lack of demand for end product has limited take-up.
Maggot farmer and founder of the Insect Protein Association of Australia Olympia Yarger said insects were the key to creating a circular economy.
“Insects are unique insofar as they can valorise waste up and down the supply chain. That means they can fit into the supply chain in multiple ways. And they valorise really low-value things into a very high-value thing,” Ms Yarger said.
Her company, Goterra, already works with several councils to turn their food waste into protein that can be used in animal feed or fertiliser.
“It takes no change other than to start separating your organics from the rest of your waste streams and putting it into a bin that can be collected in the same way any of your other bins are collected, and then brought to one of our facilities,” she said.
Ms Yarger said it was no more expensive than sending it to landfill.
She said the biggest shift needed was in community attitudes towards waste after throwing away so much for so long.
“Getting communities to understand the importance of reclaiming is going to be the part that’s most difficult, but I don’t think it’s insurmountable,” Ms Yarger said.
“If we explain that food waste is actually wasted water and wasted soil nutrients, and if you can reclaim that wasted water and turn it into something that can go back to agriculture, to create business resilience for Australian farmers, then that’s something that Australians can get behind.”