Transitioning to a localised economy is both pressing and exciting.
As we learn of recycling industries in crisis, rising fuel prices and unaffordable lettuce, the YIMBY (Yes In My Back Yard) members scratch their collective heads, especially when it comes to removing food organics from landfill and increasing local food growing capacity.
YIMBY composters are hard at work in their local community and are having an impact in reducing Mount Alexander Shire’s emissions from landfill, improving local soil and their capacity to grow lettuce and all without the use of fossil-fuelled transport.
Since January, community composters have collected 4682kg of food scraps from their neighbours, that’s 4.6 tonne not going to landfill and lots of rich compost going back to local soils. That’s a lot of local lettuce being grown!
YIMBY is proud to be one of 24 successful projects in the first round of the Recycling Victoria Communities Fund and one bucket at a time, the YIMBY trial is transforming the way we imagine ‘waste’ and ‘circular economy’.
Instead of looking to ‘big’ and complex solutions, where the problem is externalised, in other words, we pay someone to take it ‘away’, YIMBY embraces the motto ‘there is no away’… and our organics are not ‘waste’.
Thinking about our food scraps, not as ‘waste’ but rather nutrients, to be cycled back into nutrient-hungry soil, to grow more lettuces, or anything else, is a simple but radical shift in how the ‘problem’ is approached.
The other important imagining of YIMBY is connected communities, working together to solve problems, collectively, on a local scale.
Lucy Young, coordinator of YIMBY, ask questions such as “what if we lived in connected communities that shared responsibility, each person contributing within their capacity?”
One YIMBY composter, Gemma said, “it’s a kind of weird thing, and hard to explain, but even just picking up my neighbour’s bucket, not even talking with them, has built a relationship with that person. It’s early days yet, but it gives me a sense of belonging, doing something meaningful, it feels good”.
Victorian state legislation dictates that all local council are required to remove organics from landfill by 2030, this is a positive step, aimed at reducing methane emissions from landfill. While many councils are transitioning to a three/four bin system, YIMBY is excited to trial this local alternative way of nutrient cycling food scraps, and growing community resilience too.
Stay tuned for an upcoming community gathering, showcasing YIMBY and how you can get involved. Register your interest in YIMBY at yimbycompost.com.
