‘Bringing Organics Back to the Land’ forms one of the case studies for the ARC Discovery Project, ‘Investigating innovative waste economies: Redrawing the circular economy’.
Sydney, Australia, faces a waste crisis, prompting a goal to divert 70% of its waste from landfill by 2030. Nearly 50% of the city’s waste is organic matter, making it a key focus for achieving significant landfill diversion. Innovative waste economies hinge on understanding how various types of waste can translate into Circular Economy opportunities.
In 2016, Planet Ark studied the viability of collecting spent coffee grounds (SCG) from cafes and institutions for windrow composting on farms, narrowly focusing on consumer willingness to pay for responsible organic recycling at point of sale in cafes. The following collaborative design research broadened the scope, gathering a full array of actors in a deliberative conversation about the practicalities of ‘reverse logistics’ — returning food waste from the inner city to farmland.
Read the full case study here.
