The LOCCAL Loop – April 2025 Newsletter

Welcome to the first Local Community Compost Alliance monthly newsletter.

We want to help you stay “in the loop” and connected to the many interesting things happening in our community networks. So we have mixed up a batch of all the the latest links and information…

Please enjoy!

Featured Articles

Women in the Spotlight: Shaping the National Conversation on Community Composting

On International Women’s Day in March, we celebrated of few of the women driving Australia’s community composting movement and capturing national media attention. Across the country, women are making headlines, shaping policy and inspiring change in their communities. Read more…

Making a case for community composting as an infrastructure service (via Renew Magazine)

LOCCAL’s treasurer, Ashley, writes about the government-side strategies we have been observing in Australia, and where community composting sits in the organic waste management mix. Also includes a case study on how a food rescue operation has looked at its onsite composting approach.

Read the article on Renew Magazine here: The third way of organic waste management

Ask a (composter) friend:

Q: Can I put cooked corn cobs in the compost bin??

A: Yeah you sure can – they’ll take a bit longer than some other scraps to break down but you can snap them into smaller pieces.

Q: Can anyone help identify this beastie? A skinny worm-like creature, 3-4cm long with uneven body width, pale and flat surface underneath the body, dark almost purplish black on top, with a golden yellow stripe running along the entire length. Found it on a bag that had been moved around, so not sure of the original habitat!

A: Land planarian (flatworm), predators of earthworms

If you have any burning compost related questions post them on one of our social media sites and someone in our community will have an answer!

Local Hero Spotlight

Soil Sister Ernie: Compost, Creativity and Connection

Meet Ernie, composter, soil sister and amazing t-shirt maker! Read more…

What’s on in April around Australia

Soil, compost, zero waste, climate action, regenerative and urban agriculture – find something on in your neck of the woods during April. For more information on any of the below events see LOCCAL’s What’s on guide

Online:

Sustainable Gardening Australia are hosting a series of Spotlight on Soil Master class sessions – one on soil microbes & minerals and another session on soil contamination (April 2 & 9)
The Future of Food Policy in an Uncertain World: Join a panel of global and local experts to explore how global uncertainties are shaping food policy now and into the future. This is an online and in-person event held at Deakin Downtown in Melbourne (April 16).
Webinars from the USA: The ILSR are running a webinar on education and outreach to reduce contamination on April 2. The Rich Earth Institute are running two webinars on using urine (peecycling) on April 3 & April 19. Dr Elaine’s Soil Foodweb School is offering a series of 4 free high-impact live events exploring the soil-ution to some of the most concerning ecological issues of our time.

NSW:

APR 2: FREE composting and worm farm workshop Gunnedah
APR 5: Coffee & Compost in Singleton
APR 5: Hügelkultur Bed Creation Workshop at Allambie Heights
APR 5: Home Composting Workshop at Cessnock Community Garden
APR 5: Workshop: Making Biologically Complete Compost & Compost Extracts at The Paddock Project, Mullumbimby
APR 6: Glover’s Community Garden 40th Anniversary Open Day, Lilyfield
APR 15: Composting with Kids, Kimbriki Eco House & Garden, Ingleside
APR 27: Urban Resilient Gardening with Linda Woodrow and Peter Lewis Northbank Community Gardens, Bellingen

NT:

APR 5: Free Workshop – Minimising & Managing Home Food Waste, Alice Springs

QLD:

APR 5: Amazon Black Earth Compost workshop, Permaculture Cairns
APR 6: Little Explorers: Compost critters (6 years+), Karawatha Forest Discovery Centre
APR 6: Community Compost Turn & Learn, The Pocket Community Garden, Woolloongabba
APR 12: Make a mini worm farm to take home, Fairfield Library
APR 16: Little Explorers: Compost critters (6 years+), Karawatha Forest Discovery Centre

SA:

APR 28: Semaphore Compost Network Monthly Get-Together, Largs Pier Hotel, Largs Bay

TAS:

APR 5 & 6: NW Ecofest 2025, Ulverstone

VIC:

APR 5: From Scraps to Soil: Easy home composting and worm farming, Common Ground Project, Freshwater creek
APR 9: Towards Zero Waste – Ages 5 to 8, CERES Community Environment Park
until 11 Apr: Edible Urban Futures Melbourne
APR 12 & 13: Off-Grid Living Festival 2025, Chiltern
APR 23: Setting up a Worm Farm – Online Nillumbik Shire Council

WA:

APR 5: All about Bokashi, Enviro House, Bayswater
APR 16: SJ Composting Workshop, Briggs Park Pavilion, Byford
APR 22: Wonderful Worms (Kids 8-12), Enviro House, Bayswater

For more information on any of these events see LOCCAL’s What’s on guide

If you are aware of any other relevant events and would like to see them featured on the What’s On Guide please send details to us at info@loccal.org

News from around the world

Aotearoa/NZ

Glenorchy leads the charge on community composting – pilot extended

The Lakes Weekly from Queenstown reports: They may be relatively remote from the main urban areas but that hasn’t stopped the Glenorchy community from leading the charge in the southern region with its hugely successful door-to-door community composting programme. Read more…

UK

‘People feel a sense of ownership’: the growth of community composting

Jessica Murray from the Guardian reports: Instead of burning or transporting their garden waste, residents of an English village built their own composting site. Read more…

USA

Community Composters’ Achievements Nationally Recognized at COMPOST2025

Jordan Ashby from ILSR reports: Community composters continue to assert themselves as a growing and integral sector within the composting industry. At the COMPOST2025 Annual Conference and Tradeshow, hosted by the US Compost Council, their achievements, commitment, and creativity were recognized across a variety of awards. Read more…

Brazil

Growing The Brazilian Composting Industry

Ana Carvalho from BioCycle reports: A national composting association, founded in 2022, is building awareness about organics recycling, and working with government agencies, municipalities and private companies to create infrastructure. Read more…

Get involved

Want more? Membership to LOCCAL is free! Please tell your friends and colleagues about us and ask them to join so that we can support community composting around Australia.

We would love to hear from you if you have any ideas, suggestions or stories. Please contact us at info@loccal.org