As we continue to celebrate International Composting Awareness Week, we are highlighting the valuable contributions of staff and students who are helping reduce food waste and foster a culture of composting across campus. Initatives from the School of Cybernetics (SOCY) and School of Regulation and Global Governance (RegNet) demonstrate the power of community-led action in creating meaningful change.
Food & Kitchen Organics collection at SOCY
In 2023, the School of Cybernetics (SOCY), part of the College of Systems and Society, reinstated its Food & Kitchen Organics collection program following a hiatus during the COVID lockdowns. Originally launched in 2020 under the former 3Ai Institute, the initiative was revitalised through the ANU Green Impact Challenge run by ANU Below Zero (now ANU Green).
Located in the publicly accessible kitchen on Level 3 of the Birch Building, the "SOCY green bin" is used by around 35 staff, 20 students and regular visitors. With clear signage and regular internal communications, the SOCY community is encouraged to separate food scraps and coffee grounds for composting. On average, the initiative diverts around 12kg of food scraps per week from landfill.
The collected scraps are composted by staff and students, Rebecca Conroy who manages a composting bin on campus and Thomas Biedermann who takes the scraps home for his garden composting setup (pictured below).
Beyond reducing landfill, this initiative has sparked important discussions around the use of single-use items marked as home compostable that may contain PFAS or other forever chemicals. The School continues to monitor for alternatives for when reusable items are not feasible.
On campus home composing setup managed by Rebecca Conroy.
Off campus home composting setup managed by Thomas Biedermann.
RegNet’s local loop
At RegNet, Dr Amy Carrad coordinates a creative and effective community food scraps collection system that links the office to local home composters.
Using 10L tubs donated by Boost Juice, staff contribute their scraps that Amy transports home. There, neighbours add to the tubs and local community members with larger compost systems at their home, sourced through local Facebook Groups, collect and process the scraps in their own systems (pictured below) before returning the tubs for reuse.
While challenges like correct sorting and reliance on individual coordination remain, this community-powered solution shows how to creatively close the loop and keep organic material out of landfill.
Two bay home compost setup from local Facebook Group member with kitchen scraps and green waste.
Supporting campus-wide change
While small, these initiatives have a significant impact to support waste education and behaviour change, and directly support the University’sgoal to divert the amount of waste sent to landfill.
The University is currently piloting a five-stream waste and resource disposal system, with a dedicated food organics bin, at the Marie Reay Teaching Centre. As part of this Be Bin Smart program, ANU Green will be working to expand organic food bin access across ANU buildings throughout 2025 to support these local area initiatives and scale up food diversion from landfill.
By celebrating these initiatives, we hope to inspire others and show how everyday actions contribute to a more sustainable and circular campus.
Inspired to start composting in your area? Join the One Small Step x ANU community and check out our new workplace composting challenge that includes a step-by-step guide to setting up your own system at work. Search for "Create a Composting Action Plan for a Greener Workplace" in the app.
Want to get involved or learn more? Follow us on Instagram, join the One Small Step app or the ANU Green Network. The One Small Step app speaks directly to the ANU community with easy and fun ways to act more sustainably, and the Network is an online resource for ANU staff and students to access and share sustainability activities and advice at the University.