Did you know that the Tarragindi Community Garden has so far rescued more than nine tonnes of food waste since it opened in 2020? Get to know this community garden that has been championing domestic waste reduction through responsible waste management.
The Tarragindi Community Garden is a volunteer group formed in 2019, consisting of Tarragindi locals who are passionate about turning the community waste management around.
The group established the community garden, situated within the grounds of the Wellers Hill Bowls Club, through the leadership of Renae McBrien with a vision of a shared backyard where everyone can enjoy the pleasure of growing their own food and sharing it with the rest of the community.
Photo Credit: supplied
To fund their project, they came up with a scheme that would not only encourage the members of the community to donate but leave donors with a sense of ownership. Through their “tree and bed sponsorship” program, the community garden was able to cover their cost of construction whilst acknowledging the families that helped fund the project by putting their names on the plaques around the garden.
Apart from growing food, the community garden hosts a community composting hub, through the support of the Brisbane City Council, that collects local domestic and commercial food waste and turns it into hot compost.
They have thus far diverted 9 tonnes of organic waste from the landfill and converted it into free landscape supplies for the garden with the rest (approximately 9 x 25L bags a month) given away to the community.
Some of the partners in the community who compost in the hub include:
- Two local florists – floral and foliage waste
- Two local coffee shops – coffee grinds
- Wellers Hill Bowls Club bowling green waste – garden waste
- Local brewery – spent beer and hops
- Local primary school – brown tuckshop bags and food waste
- Local Childcare centre – all daily food waste
Another initiative of the group is the Tarragindi Toppers recycling hub which captures small plastic lids, bread tags and beer and wine bottle tops for processing and reusing by Australian circular economy projects including:
- 253 kg of bottle tops – community volunteers process this into colours for recycling by EVOLVE plastics – Crestmead into building materials.
- 61.4 kg of bread tags – hand sorted into colours and donated to Transmutation in South Australia to be made into plastic bowls, platters, plant pots etc.
- 4.2 tonnes of PVC pool toys, air mattresses, umbrellas, shower curtains and donated to PLOYS in Bundaberg to be reused into school swim bags, library bags, purses etc.
- 16kg of beer and wine metal tops – recycled directly back into a Brisbane scrap metal facility.
The group also conducts free community composting workshops, free community native bee workshops with the Tarragindi Scouts groups, community worm farm workshops as well as deliver community information lectures at the BCC Masters Composting Course.
They also do monthly Tarragindi Community garden working bees with free giveaway compost bags for the community, recycling education sessions at local Tarragindi child care centres, and recycling education sessions at local primary schools.
In the 2021 WasteSMART Champions Awards, the group captured two awards: University of Queensland Brisbane’s WasteSMART Champion for Renae McBrien and WasteSMART Community Award for The Tarragindi Community Garden.
Tarragindi Community Garden | 34 Esher St Tarragindi QLD 4121