Victorian-based resource recovery pioneer, Repurpose It, has donated organic high-grade soil and compost to the Hume City Council, supporting its community garden efforts and allowing the local community to do its part in joining the circular economy journey.
Repurpose It, which recently celebrated five years in business, recycles more 500,000 tonnes of waste every year. It works with a network of local councils, including Hume City Council, to recover resources and recyclables such as Food Organics, Garden Organics (FOGO) and give them a new life, by turning them into new materials.
To support the Hume City Council, located north-east of Melbourne’s CBD, Repurpose It delivered compost to community gardens across the region, including Craigieburn, Roxburgh Park, Sunbury and Westmeadows Indigenous Community Gardens.
“We are so thrilled to be working with Hume City Council on this initiative and giving back to the community with this partnership. We are incredibly proud of this partnership, particularly the part we are playing in processing council’s Food Organics, Garden Organics,” said George Hatzimanolis, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Repurpose It.
“We have a long-term partnership with Hume City Council and are excited to be demonstrating and educating locals on how their food and garden waste can be turned into useful resources that can be used in the community again and again.
“We have seen that Victorians are becoming more and more aware of where their waste and rubbish goes and how they can play a part in moving towards a truly circular economy. We are thrilled to be taking these steps in the right direction with Hume City Council.”
The resources received at Repurpose It are recovered from various commercial and residential sites. The material is then screened, blended with internally produced products, tested and supplied back to the market.
“We’re not just diverting waste but also improving soil health. It’s important to highlight that those various streams would usually go to landfill but what we receive, we repurpose and are then able to supply quality soils back to the community,” Hatzimanolis said.
Maria Callipari, Community Development Officer, recently visited Repurpose It and said she was surprised by the facility and the systems in place to repurpose waste.
“As a Community Worker, leading Hume community gardens, I aim to educate the community about the importance of growing food. The council FOGO service is part of this education journey. I am planning to co-ordinate visits to Repurpose It in the future to enable this education to ripple out to the broader community,” she said.
Repurpose It was recently listed on the AFR Most Innovative List. It has received two Premier’s Sustainability Awards, a Westpac Businesses of Tomorrow Award and a Northern Business Achiever Award. Additionally, the business has attracted grants from Sustainability Victoria, R&D Funding from state and federal governments and are proud partners with Swinburne. Melbourne Polytechnic, Victoria University and RMIT. Repurpose It resides on a 230-acre property in Epping which has been designated as a site of strategic importance to Victoria for resource recovery.
For further information, visit www.repurposeit.com.au
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