4 minute read
Compost Club - A Beautiful Hot Mess
from KulaMag Issue Three
by kula_mag
Written by J Taylor
Food waste is a huge issue both environmentally and economically but Old Tree Brewery’s new Compost Club is turning rubbish into robins and ‘doing the dirty work, so you don’t have to!’
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Despite Brighton’s credentials as a green capital, the city’s food waste and recycling schemes are a disgrace for many residents. With UK household groceries producing 6.5million tonnes of food waste each year and selfreported waste increasing by 30% since the end of lockdown the situation is absolute garbage. Luckily, local living drinks producer Old Tree Brewery, has taken matters into their own hands and they’re not afraid to get messy!
The social enterprise, which has been creating seasonal botanical kombucha and other beverages since 2014, recognised the surge of interest in growing and gardening sparked by Covid-19 measures and decided to bring composting to the community. “It felt like the whole of the South had run out of compost,” explained Thomas Daniell, Co-Founder of Old Tree Brewery’s Compost Club. “Composting has always been a part of Old Tree’s production as it was the only way we can achieve
our vision of botanical drinks and edible landscapes. From there our goal became putting an end to all organic ‘waste’ in our process and the local area too.” Since the club’s initial launch in Spring, Old Tree Brewery has expanded across the city with two Joraform Compost tumblers, or giant earthworms as they’re affectionately known, and a repurposed composter from Brighton’s former zero-waste restaurant, Silo. With this growth, Compost Club membership is wide open to households and communities across the city helping to save the earth from landfill, spread the word about microbes and ‘turn the city green with love.’ Becoming a part of this club gives a whole new meaning to a ‘dirty weekend’ in Brighton!
The club insists it isn’t trying to corner the market in high end compost and as a self-described ‘regenerative company’, the founders’ goal is to put themselves out of business. “The dream is to get as much of Brighton and surrounding areas composting,” enthused Co-Founder Michael Kennard. “We’re keen for people to start through our Compost Club but the ideal would be for people to start composting where they live - it’s a no brainer. Healthier landscapes around you, healthier food, more green space, cooler cities as soil can store more water. It’s like urban permaculture!”
Echoing this sentiment, Thomas said: “First of all we’re keen to change people’s idea of good compost. Shoppers have been sold down the river with garden centres selling really low nutrient stuff, it’s made on an industrial scale and boiled so it’s just not natural. We want to show people how much better wormpowered, biologically complete humus can be. The compost we are creating with communities in the city centre is next level, you can’t compare it with the low-grade stuff at Wickes or wherever.”
Unfortunately, for those who are keen to see composting become a regular occurrence on a citywide scale, the Compost Club has stated the initiative cannot expand too far due to local council contracts with Veolia, and other larger waste management licences. Before starting the Compost Club, Michael Kennard spoke with their local council in Hailsham who explained household composting is “not realistic” as would increase council tax and be too costly thus prompting Old Tree Brewery to do it themselves.
Even with the lack of council regulated food waste schemes, both Thomas and Michael believe this city’s engaged residents and community groups are a perfect top soil for this project to take seed. “We always say if we can’t make it work in Brighton, where can we?” explained Michael. “So far the uptake and engagement with our members is so inspiring. In addition we’ve started working with Brighton & Hove Food Partnership who have stepped in to tackle the inadequacy of Brighton’s food waste management.”
As much as the Compost Club is making headway in the city they are keen to grow the initiative, as Thomas explained: “We want to build up an ethical model in Brighton then build up to living wage jobs and then do online videos to teach other compost clubs in different cities. Just like how small networks of mushroom or mycelium organisms share information and nutrients then recycle them endlessly. We need to emulate this in our human systems before we commit a full ecocide with our current ways which are bleeding this earth dry!”
To get dirty and start composting with Old Tree Brewery, visit oldtree. house/compost-club
