Free compost bins make the difference

The first composting workshops run by the Gisborne District Council have been well attended. They have been run in the nine townships that have rural transfer stations. About 80 people attended the workshop at Tolaga Bay Area School this week.

Word has got around that householders who attend receive a free compost bin and expert tuition from Ron Taiapa.

Ron Taiapa, who has tutored horticulture at Tairāwhiti Polytechnic for the last 25 years, and more recently at EIT, is delivering most of these workshops.

He is really excited about the potential to get locals both into their gardens and reducing their waste. But more than that he just loves working with others, making Tairāwhiti a better place to live.

Leah Pardoe attended the Tolaga Bay workshop and is really happy to be receiving her free compost bin courtesy of Council. “It is going to help me be more self-sufficient. Healthy soil means healthy and lush produce because I am maintaining the microorganisms in my soil.”

Anne Lister, Council’s waste minimisation coordinator, has been running workshops for a number of years and will be delivering the workshops on the weekend of the 8th and will be in 6 communities on the weekend of the 15th and 16th spreading the word.

Each community has the option to attend any of 3 composting workshops over the next 2 months. A timetable was delivered with the recycling bins, has been in the Herald and is on Council’s website.

It is hoped if this programme is successful then it will be extended to all parts of the district, including the city.

ENDS

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