00:00Tasmania's waste problem is piling up.
00:05Each Tasmanian generates on average a tonne or more of waste that goes to landfill each year.
00:12And while some landfill can keep being used for decades, others are nearly full.
00:17It has this long term cost that most people don't think about.
00:20Finding a new site is very expensive and challenging.
00:23This new state-of-the-art composting facility at Doverton near Devonport could be part of the answer.
00:30Across regional and rural Australia, the tyranny of distance and small population base
00:35means traditionally it's cost effective to throw most household waste into landfill like this.
00:42But over time, as that organic matter breaks down,
00:45it releases methane into the atmosphere and leachate into nearby waterways,
00:50causing problems that extend far beyond the life of the landfill.
00:54The $32 million facility is the first of its kind in Tasmania.
00:59It will be able to handle 50,000 tonnes of organic waste,
01:04putting it in specially designed tunnels where it is turned into high quality compost,
01:09all without spilling a drop.
01:11If you look across the state, we're the only in-vessel facility,
01:14so others are making compost but out in the open.
01:17And with the Tasmanian winters and the wet springs that we can have,
01:21that's really challenging to do.
01:23The benefit for FOGO as a community is that in collecting all that material,
01:27we know we can move between 40 and 60 per cent out of your regular landfill bin.
01:32That compost can be used by farmers like Paul Bennett.
01:35We've been here at Ashgrove buying compost off of Doverton for over 10 years now.
01:40We use compost to build up the profile of the soil.
01:43Closing the loop on Tasmania's organic waste challenge.
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