Worm farming and composting

What is composting?

The City encourages residents to compost their food scraps and garden waste wherever possible. Approximately 50% of the rubbish Australians put in their everyday  rubbish bin could be put to better use in the garden as compost to improve soil quality. 

Composting is  a simple process where naturally occurring bacteria and fungi breakdown organic matter. The end product, a nutrient rich soil-like material, can be used to create and maintain a healthy and sustainable garden that requires less water.

Composting can bring a second life to:

• Vegetable and fruit scraps
• Tea leaves and plastic-free tea bags
• Coffee grounds
• Crushed egg shells
• Shredded paper and cardboard
• Leaves, twigs and other garden waste

If you have ever wondered if there was something better than your rubbish bin for these materials, why not give composting a go? The Switch Your Thinking program provides discounts on compost bins for City of Gosnells residents. 

Even if you don't have the space at your own house to compost, you can still put your organic waste to work. Visit Share Waste to find a nearby house with compost or chickens who could use your scraps. 

What is worm farming?

Worm farming is another way to recycle your food scraps by feeding them to hungry worms in a special worm house. Worm farming can be a more suitable option for smaller households who don't produce enough organic matter for a compost system. 

Set up your worm farm, introduce some worms, chop your organic matter into small pieces and feed your worms - simple! Children will love seeing the worm numbers multiple as your wriggle of worms grows. 

You can place the following items in your worm farm: 

• Vegetable and fruit scraps
• Tea leaves and plastic-free tea bags
• Coffee grounds
• Crushed egg shells
• Shredded paper and cardboard
• Feeds and flowers

You can use the end products in the garden to nourish your plants and soil - there are two end products leachate (the juice) and the castings. Turn the juice into a worm tea by diluting the liquid, and dig the castings into your soil to improve soil health. The Switch Your Thinking program provides discounts on compost bins for City of Gosnells residents. 

Switch Your Thinking

The City of Gosnells is a partner Council of Switch Your Thinking. 

Switch your thinking is a local government initiative that inspires sustainable action and provides residents with advice to make their homes more sustainable.

Visit the Switch Your Thinking webpage to find out more about the work Switch does, and the events or discounts you can receive as a resident of the City of Gosnells. 

A switch you thinking idea - have you heard of a Bokashi bin? Bokashi is a composting system that fits on your kitchen countertop and takes all organic waste - meat and diary included.