sharewaste

If you’re a person who wants to start composting but don’t have the means, space or motivation to keep up with a composting system, then this magical idea might be for you!

What is ShareWaste

I’m amazed I’ve not stumbled across this magical website sooner. ShareWaste is a way to connect with local composters in your area, that will take your scraps and compost them for you! So you are being responsible with your food waste, and your neighbours get the benefits of compost for their gardens! It’s also a great way to connect with your community, and make some new friends!

How it works

Have a browse of the map and see who pops up in your area, I was genuinely surprised by the number of composters near me! Click on someone and read their conditions. Many people will specify certain things they don’t want donated, usually meat, citrus, tea bags or eggshells.

One of my ShareWaste companions conditions

If you find someone that suits your kind of scraps, then send them a message! I sent a bunch of messages out to make sure I had a few people to go to. This ensures I’m not dumping huge amounts of scraps on just one person. This map below shows a few composting folk in the greater Hobart area!

Who we’ve connected with

After sending out messages to six different folks who were close by, we got responses from 4 that we were keen to set up with. Some people accept certain things that others don’t, and some people have a certain way they wish you to drop off your scraps. So to stop ourselves from getting confused I’ve developed a big chart of who accepts what, and pinned it up in the kitchen.

Be a good donor

It’s really important to note that this isn’t just an alternative bin system. It’s super important to follow the rules of the host and be polite. The common things that people tend not to accept is tea, coffee grounds and egg shells. But some of our ShareWasters do! With this in mind, I put used coffee grounds, tea bags, and egg shells in their own seperate containers to not contaminate one load of scraps.

Some used loose tea leaves we keep in a seperate container

Making our first drop off

On a rainy Saturday arvo we set out to make our first drop offs. We didn’t have much for our first drop off so we went to Bill’s place as he accepts a wide range of scraps. Bill’s system is pretty simple, an easily accessible wheelie bin out the front that we couldn’t miss. Walking up towards it we could smell the lovely food scraps already brewing away inside – we knew we’d struck gold!

Start collecting

There’s no time like the present! Grab a bucket or bin and start collecting your scraps. You’ll be doing the planet a great service by diverting your food from landfill and allowing someone else to churn them into beautiful compost for their own gardens. It’s so easy, just get started!