On my first day at my new internship at Michael Mobbs' Sustainable House, I learned how impactful food waste is on the environment as well as how avoidable this waste can be! Did you know if food waste was graphed as a country, it would be the third largest polluting country in the world?
My name is Sophia Elmblad and I'm currently interning at until mid-December. Michael showed me around the Chippendale area and I was in awe of the footpath gardens and beautiful greenery on the streets. I was astounded with how anyone could come garden in the footpaths and the social benefits that this holds as a community.
I was also introduced to Michael Mobbs' idea, the coolseat! See me here on my first day at my internship testing out coolseats. A coolseat is a new and innovative composting method. It provides a comfy place to sit and when you lift the seat, bins to discard food and paper waste into. It also serves as a garden bed that produces fresh food and flowers supported by the compost it produces.
Every coolseat is sourced and manufactured solely in Australia and does not use slave labor. Additionally, every coolseat purchase comes with free worms and sawdust to start off your coolseat! If you are interested in learning more about coolseats, check out the coolseats website. Here, you can also download a free compost calculator to track a month's worth of food waste and garbage disposal savings.
Initially, I can't say I was super excited to handle lots of decomposing food waste. It's filled with worms, larvae, and flies which humans typically try not to come in close contact with. Luckily, I have taken an entomology class at my university where I had to collect 50+ insect specimens so I wasn't as squeamish because of this.
Although, I quickly became comfortable assisting in upkeep of the 15 composting options around Chippendale. I learned how to churn soil with an auger and use a Ho-mi to assist with digging and transferring food waste.
Just in my three weeks of gardening and composting, I've found there is so much community to be built when you are outside and connecting with the earth. I've met cafe owners, influential people, community members, and many curious people while composting on the streets of Chippendale.
I was excited to be informed about 1 Million Women after meeting the company's founder, Natalie Isaacs, while composting on the streets in my first few days of internship. I immediately joined the movement, interested in meeting likeminded people and learning valuable information about climate change.
Not only is composting a great way to connect, but it is also a sustainable choice we can all make as consumers. In my first week, I brought home a food waste container and asked my roommates to put their food waste inside. My roommates adapted to this request promptly and before I knew it the 10 litre food waste container was full in a matter of a week!
The food waste bin in my apartment! Check out michaelmobbs and coolseats on Instagram to see 'How I Compost' along with other informational videos/posts I create throughout my internship.
I'm excited to inform everyone that in just 4 weeks of collecting food waste at home and in the streets of Chippendale, I've been able to assist in composting 600.35 kg of food waste. When composted, 1 kg of food waste stops 1.5 kg of climate pollution. I have therefore avoided 900.525 kg of harmful emissions by redirecting waste that would have otherwise ended up at a landfill.
These calculations and graphs were created by the compost calculator available for download by anyone on the coolseats site.
Although I never foresaw this in my future, I'm proud to say that I am giving back to the earth and doing good by mother nature. Composting and collecting my food waste has already become second nature to me. Once you start, there's no stopping! It becomes an engrained habit that is fueled by the knowledge of an overly wasteful society.
Not many can say that they do much to help the environment although composting is one of the easiest ways to reduce your environmental footprint on earth. I'm excited to continue my composting journey and aid in the creative process of bringing coolseats to market!
Written by Sophia Elmblad
I'm currently in my senior year at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo California. My major is environmental management and I'm minoring in biology. Throughout my studies in environmental management, I've learned many useful topics such as GIS (geographic information systems), LCA (life-cycle analysis), land measurement tools, and data collection/analysis techniques. Within my minor, I've enjoyed studying topics such as mammalogy (the study of mammals), entomology (the study of insects), rangeland management, and ecosystem ecology.
I am very passionate about protecting the environment and creating sustainable change for the future. I have also fallen in love with the world's biodiversity, leading me to my biology minor.
If you are interested in getting a coolseat of your own, email Michael Mobbs at michael@sustainablehouse.com.au. If you need sustainability consultations or you're looking to convert your house to off-grid living he gives tours and consultations! Check out his website Sydney's Sustainable House for more info.
All images provided by coolseats