Launceston cafe Earthy Eats is feeding its vegetables before they are feeding customers.
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All green waste created at the cafe is then sent to an organic farm which has a worm farm.
Earthy Eats owner Laura Danderian said it was a nice cycle when the “worm juice” went back into feeding the vegetables supplied to the cafe.
“You want to get as much out of your produce as you can,” Mrs Danderian said.
“Many seemingly small things can be found when you study your processes. We added little buckets near vegetable cutting stations to collect scraps and now use them when making our veggie broths.”
The cafe is one of many Tasmanian businesses seeking a more sustainable way of managing their waste.
Mrs Danderian said every little bit of effort made a difference over time and reduced unnecessary waste going to landfill.
Teabags, which have a fine plastic mesh inside, have been replaced with loose leaf tea, she said.
The cafe was moving towards cutting out cling wrap in the near future and instead use beeswax covers for food.
“In Tasmania, there seems to be a more conscious mindset,” Mrs Danderian said.
“The customers are very supportive with some grabbing cafe scraps for their pigs.”
Northern Tasmanian Waste Management Group waste and environment officer Michael Attard said it was the small steps which contributed to the big picture of effective waste management.
The organisation released a fact sheet to help improve waste management and show businesses how they can make the sustainable change.
The fact sheet aimed to encourage businesses to avoid or reduce sending waste to landfill and instead reuse materials.
“We wanted a comprehensive and easy to use tool that would help local businesses in their efforts,” Mr Attard said.
“The guidelines all come from local business owners who have made it a priority to reduce their waste and recover resources.”
Project and operations officer Mel Pearce said one of the key issues brought up by business owners was the importance of making a waste management plan.
“This is a perfect opportunity to sit down with employees and figure out ways to reduce waste, reuse what’s possible and try to recycle most of the rest.”
The organisation aimed to have businesses consider every step taken to reuse, reduce and recycle kept the community and environment healthy.
For more information about waste management and waste reducing ideas, visit Rethinkwaste.com.au.
Tess Brunton
I recently returned from across the ditch where I worked at New Zealand Fairfax paper The Timaru Herald and developed a love of mountains. Originally I'm a mainlander from an area known for cheese, the Bega Valley, who also dabbled in radio at ABC RCAFF before finding a place in newspapers. I can often be found hiking, caving or climbing when I'm not cursing at my work computer or technology in general.
I recently returned from across the ditch where I worked at New Zealand Fairfax paper The Timaru Herald and developed a love of mountains. Originally I'm a mainlander from an area known for cheese, the Bega Valley, who also dabbled in radio at ABC RCAFF before finding a place in newspapers. I can often be found hiking, caving or climbing when I'm not cursing at my work computer or technology in general.
