AORA September 2023 Newsletter

From the National Executive Officer

What a month!

I attended the first two Queensland Farmer Demand and Market Specification for Organic Composts and Materials Workshops early in the month in Clifton and Gatton, facilitated by David Hall.

Some of the key points I picked up from the farmers present included;

• Farmers are unsure/confused about the use of compost generally in their production systems – why use compost, what value will it provide, is it a direct substitute for fertilizers, will I see improvements in production, etc.
• The response time to fertilizers like urea are well understood generally by farmers but that is not the case with compost.
• The long game (compost) versus the short game (fertilizer), and where farmers currently sit.

The final report from the workshops will be very interesting but from an initial assessment, there is a lot of opportunities to raise awareness and improve education within the farming community about compost.

The middle of September I headed west for the 2023 Waste and Recycling Conference in Perth, where I had the opportunity to meet with a number of AORA WA Committee members, catch up with some of our sponsors and man the trade display at the Conference Exhibition.

This week, I attended the Elmore Field Day event in Victoria, and will share more on that later in the newsletter.

Still to come for this year;

• Queensland Farmer Demand and Market Specification for Organic Composts and Materials Workshops – Queensland (3 more workshops are scheduled, Nerang on 31 October and Bundaberg and Beerwah shortly after.)
• Waste Expo – Melbourne, 25 & 26 October - come and visit Alex and I at stand D133
• AORA Annual Members Meeting/AGM – Sydney, 17 November

And lock in the conference for 2024;

• AORA National Conference – Sea World Conference Centre (Gold Coast, QLD) 5 -7 June 2024

As always, keep an eye on our social media for the most up to date information.

John McKew

National Executive Officer

Australian Organics Recycling Association

Nominations open for

AORA Board of Directors

close today

AORA Board Members work to direct the overall strategic direction of the Association and to promote the industry and the beneficial use of organic materials through a National Executive Officer, contracted staff and state committees.

You can self-nominate or be nominated by another AORA Member.

Time Requirements;

• Typically, this is no more than 1 day a month. Board meetings are a mixture of online (Zoom) and face-to-face meetings but are predominantly held online monthly and usually for no more than two hours. Any face-to-face board meetings that require travel will be reimbursed.
• There are regular emails from the Chair / Directors / National Executive Officer and/or National Coordinator which may require timely consideration and responses.

There will be three vacancies on the AORA Board to fill for this 2023 election.

Board Nominations close at 5pm AEST 29 September 2023.

Processor Capability Survey Closes Today

Each year the organics recycling industry is processing 7.7 million tonnes of valuable product for further use across the Australian economy.

In doing so the industry is providing a considerable contribution to Australian economy. AORA modelling has confirmed that whilst this is an excellent contribution, it is only a fraction of what could be achieved if Governments across Australia were able to lift the recycling rate of organic material.

Accordingly, AORA has commissioned this survey to ascertain the organic recycling industry’s existing and potential capacity. This survey will help establish the industry’s ability to step up as an economic, employment and environment provider of benefit.

SURVEY LINK: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/AORACapabilitySurvey2023

All survey returns are strictly confidential and results will only be produced in aggregate for the Industry.

Please take a few moments to complete the survey by COB Friday 29 September 2023.

If you have any questions about the survey please contact John McKew on 0434 711 077 or Nick Behrens on 0448 034 355.

Save the Date

Friday 17 November

Sydney

AORA's Annual General Meeting will take place on Friday 17 November, followed by the Annual Members Forum, incorporating the NSW end of year drinks.

All AORA members are able to attend the AGM, only processing members have voting rights. This part of the day is free to attend and will also be available on Zoom for members who are unable to attend.  

The remainder of the day will be a ticketed event, and tickets will be available shortly.

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AORA PFAS Position Paper

AORA recently developed a position paper that summarises PFAS in Compost.

We encourage you to share and utilise this paper, but suggest you link to the page it sits on, rather than the paper itself in case there are updates in the future.

AORA at Waste Expo - Join Us!

Waste Expo is next month!

Come and join us at this huge event in Melbourne in October. There will be over 100 brands on display, and the concurrent speaker sessions will feature 100+ speakers across the two days. Last year the audience was close to 3000 people and over 200 local governments were represented.

AORA will be part of the conference proceedings on;

Day One - 4.15pm; Speaker Session: Composting - the contamination dilemma, John McKew, NEO

Day Two -11am; Panel discussion: The challenges of organic recycling, food waste and compostable packaging, John McKew, AORA, Natasza Letowt-Vorbek, Australasian Bioplastics Association (ABA), Rowan Williams, BASF, Keith Chessell, Board Member, AIP (Moderator).

Work with us at AORA

Elmore Field Day

Over thirty attended the Elmore Field Day on Wednesday 27 September, hosted by Elmore Compost and Organics and supported by Sustainability Victoria.

The day began in Elmore with a bus trip to three sites:

1. A valuable long term surface incorporated compost trial site established in 2019 and treated each year. There are four different compost application rates compared to untreated.

2. Two innovative subsoil amelioration trial sites where compost and other amendments have been incorporated into the subsoil. The innovative machinery used to apply compost at depth was also on display.

After the field trip, we reconvened at the Elmore Football Club Rooms for lunch and presentations from:

• Frank Harney – MC
• Bill Grant - Subsoil Trial
• Matt Nihill / Andrew Dougall – Spreading Trial
• Declan MacDonald - Mulch under Vines
• Peter Speers - Soil Carbon.

The takeaway messages from the day were clear and compelling. There is a significant role for compost in agriculture – it can improve soil water infiltration, soil water and nutrient holding capacities, improve soil fertility and biology in addition to the known benefits of improving the overall nutrients and carbon in soil. As we become increasingly aware of the need for improved soil health within Australian agriculture, we are beginning to better understand that compost (a renewable resource) can have a significant role to play.

A video presentation is being prepared from today’s field day and presentations. AORA will work with Elmore Compost and Organics to make this available once it has been prepared and we would commend this to everyone who was unable to attend today’s event.

A big thank you to Frank Harney and his family for a terrific day – informative and educational and the lunch was outstanding.

Food for the Soil

The Hunter Multicultural Communities Centre in Newcastle was buzzing with recycled organics’ industry types at our recent Food for the Soil Breakfast Event, held on Thursday September 21.

Presented in partnership with the NSW EPA, Food for the Soil provided a sunny morning of networking and education as we contemplated existing and growing markets for recycled organics products in NSW.

Building upon the information already available on the EPA/Circular Australia Cool Compost platform, Food for the Soil featured an insightful keynote presentation ‘Organics in Urban Landscapes and Agriculture’ from  SESL’s Agronomist Simon Leake, as well as a dynamic panel discussion about the existing and developing markets for recycled organics products with Yancoal’s Bill Baxter, Tamburlaine Organic Wines’ Martin Gransden, Newcastle City Council’s Elfi Blackburn, MS2’s Russ Martin and Craig Bagnall from SEATA and the ANZ Biochar Industry Group. (We could have easily continued the discussions for another two hours if it wasn’t for the Tai Chi class coming into the hall at 10.30!)

There were lots of great conversations in the gardens over coffee and bacon and egg rolls, products on display, as well as plenty of notebooks filled with useful insights and business cards exchanged.

Thanks to our excellent presenters for sharing their knowledge and insights, and to NSW Chair, Charlie Emery, for facilitating the event.

El Niño and Tips for Composters

The latest El Niño Climate Driver Update by the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) was issued on the 19^th September. The Bureau has declared an El Niño and a positive Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) is underway. A positive IOD typically decreases spring rainfall for central and south-east Australia and can increase the drying influence of El Niño.

Sustainability Victoria recently surveyed some experienced commercial composting managers to find out what they do different in an El Niño. Here is a summary of their useful tips:

• Water – With dryer feedstocks the addition of water will be required to ensure complete pasteurisation.
• Secure a plentiful reliable water supply, on some sites it is permissible to use leachate but check your licence first
• Monitor moisture contents of composting material regularly (daily). It can dry quickly.
• Have your water equipment ready and serviced.

• Nitrogen – As plants dry out nitrogen (N) is translocated out of leaves into stems and roots, this means that garden organics feedstocks will have lower N levels. If there is not enough N, complete pasteurisation may not be achieved.
• Monitor nitrogen levels in feedstocks
• Secure high nitrogen feedstocks, if possible, to blend with garden organics
• Be prepared to add mineral forms of nitrogen e.g. urea.

• Fire – Here is a useful article from Biocycle Connect on spontaneous combustion fires Spontaneous Combustion In Composting: Prevention & Extinguishing - BioCycle the article has some tips on preventing fires and extinguishing fires. It also lists contributing factors that can cause fires:
• Biological activity
• Relatively dry compost piles
• Larger and more well insulated piles
• Limited air flow and reduced free air space
• Poor moisture distribution
• Poor temperature monitoring.

• Cash flow – Dryer feedstocks do not weigh as much as green feedstocks, and biomass accumulation in plants is slower in an El Niño. So be prepared for lower weights across the weighbridge.

Membership Grace Period Expires Tomorrow

If you have not paid your membership renewal yet, please contact Alex ASAP - the grace period of 2022-23 memberships finishes on September 30.

Of Interest

AORA MEDIA PARTNERS

AORA FOUNDING MEMBERS