Here are some questions from participants in the Sustainable Living at Home (SLAH) program. Please let us know if you've got a question we can answer for you! If you want to know something, then email your question to SLAH and we'll do our best to have an answer ASAP.
Recycling
Q. I want to know what we can say to cynics who claim that all recycling ends up at as landfill anyway?
A.
These cynics are wrong in the case of Port Phillip. All Port Phillip recyclables are transported to the SKM sorting plant, sorted and sent to value adding processes for renewed products or traded overseas. We regularly audit the process with visits to SKM and watch our materials arrive and get processed. There have been past occasions with some other Councils where the degree of contamination has rendered the collected materials unusable and they have been sent to a landfill.
While we can't speak on behalf of other regions, this has never happened with Port Phillip materials.
Worm Farms
Q. I want to know whether i should get a compost bin or a worm farm. What is the difference?
A.
The major considerations are space and effort. Worm farms are quite neat and easy to use these days, especially in small spaces. Compost bins can handle greater volumes, however need a garden space to be set up and require more manual labour.
The worms in a small wormery should eat all the fruit and vegetable waste produced by a household of four. Wormeries are ideal for people living in flats or houses with small backyards - places where garden space isn't readily available.
Worm farms are also good if you're after the rich liquid fertiliser they produce, ideal for pot plants.
I think if you're going to be using a compost bin because you have green waste, thats the best choice, as worm farms aren't able to deal with huge volumes early on. Best for food scraps to begin with and then further down the track as your worm population increases, small amounts of green waste, paper etc.
Q. I want to know whether if I cut my worms in half, does it mean i get two worms.
A.
Please don't cut the little creatures in half to see if they grow into two worms. They don't. You'll just kill it.
Worms are delicate animals and need to be treated with care. If a tiny part of a worm is cut off (like the tail end), it can heal and eventually grow back. This is called regeneration.
The best way to get more worms is to give them a little bit of TLC (Tender Loving Care). Before you know it, you will have more than enough worms.
Q. I want to know how much will my worms eat?
A.
It is said that worms will process half their own weight each day. Thus, 1kg of worms will process 1/2kg of waste per day.
However, this amount relates to conditions the worm bin is exposed to. For instance, in cooler weather, if the bins are outdoors, the processing rate can be slower. The amount of airflow in the bin is another factor that is important. It is best to get a 'feel' for your own worm bin. Watch the food you put in, and when it has nearly gone, you can put more in. The feeding rate is improved if vegetable stalks etc. are chopped up into smaller pieces. Over time, the feeding rate will become faster as your worm population increases.
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Use eServices to ask us a question, request information or give us feedback about SLAH online. If you prefer call ASSIST on (03) 9209 6777 or TTy (03) 9209 6713 and ask for Sustainable Living At Home .
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