Tarragindi Community Garden, together with its founder, Renae McBrien, celebrate back-to-back wins at Brisbane’s WasteSMART Champions Awards 2021.
They were recognised for helping Brisbane hospitals adopt smarter clinical recycling methods and responsible waste management.
The 2021 WasteSMART Awards is a collaboration between Brisbane Sustainability Agency and Brisbane City Council with a prize pool of more than $4,000.
During the ceremony held at City Hall on 18 November 2021, eleven awards were handed out to recognise individuals and groups who have contributed to the preservation of the city’s natural environment.
University of Queensland Brisbane’s WasteSMART Champion Renae McBrien was recognised for her role in mitigating waste from Brisbane landfills. Ms McBrien established the Tarragindi Community Garden Group in 2019 and has since devoted more than 850 hours doing volunteer work.
Through her small waste diversion and resource recovery projects, the city has mitigated about 9 tonnes of domestic and commercial organic waste since January 2020. As part of her advocacy, Ms McBrien also educated over 1,200 hospital staff about responsible waste management and clinical recycling methods.
“Tarragindi’s Renae McBrien has helped Brisbane hospitals adopt smarter recycling methods and she also dedicates time to educate the community about waste initiatives through her War on Waste Brisbane Facebook page,” Cr Steven Toomey said.
The Tarragindi Community Garden won the WasteSMART Community Award along with Ocean Crusaders Foundation Ltd. The Tarragindi Community Garden currently has over 1,000 social members. This community space has collected over 150 compost caddies and rescued over nine tonnes of food waste in the past 10 months.
The community garden provides free harvest and garden produce, conducts sustainable education sessions, and runs their own Recycling Hub.
The other WasteSMART category winners are:
- Councillors’ WasteSMART Choice Award – Karana Downs & Surrounds Community Garden Hub
- WasteSMART Business Award (<19 employees) – Vessel Nundah
- WasteSMART Business Award ( >20 employees) – Howard Smith Wharves
- WasteSMART Early Learning Award – Bellbowrie Early Education Centre
- WasteSMART Schools Award – Joint Winners: Mt St Michael’s College and Pallara State School Environment Club
- Outstanding WasteSMART Award – Save Our Supplies
- People’s Choice WasteSMART Award – Mt St Michael’s College.
The finalists were judged by a panel of experts, except for the People’s Choice Awards which was determined through public voting.The other two finalists for the WasteSMART Champions Award were Holly & Charlie Garrity (Highly Recommended) and Pamela Gibson. On the other hand, Care Kits for Kids Qld Inc was WasteSMART Community Award Highly Recommended awardee. Other WasteSMART Community Award finalists were Save Our Supplies, eWaste Connection Limited, and Moreton Island Protection Committee.
Tarragindi Community Garden | 34 Esher St Tarragindi QLD 4121
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