Learning with compost: digging down into food waste, urban soils and community
Edwards F., Mercer H.
Local Environment (Taylor & Francis), 29(10)
Urban Farm DB summary
An ethnographic study of ShareWaste, an online community-composting platform in Sydney and Canberra that connects food-waste donors directly with households hosting compost heaps to divert waste from landfill. Drawing on environmental humanities and discard studies, it explores the relationships among people, soil, compost, and food waste and the community-building these practices foster.
Key points
- 1This study explores the interactions between humans, soil, compost, and food waste within community composting initiatives in Australia through an ethnographic study.
- 2A 'composting ethic' was identified among participants, animated by three forms of learning and doing: noticing and attending, embodying, and experimentation.
- 3The analysis is contextualized with literature from environmental humanities, discard studies, and learnings from First Nations Australians' ontologies.
- 4The paper aims to deepen understanding of the opportunities and challenges of community composting in reducing negative environmental impacts and supporting anti-colonial discard practices.
- 5It identifies the characteristics of a composting ethic, the contexts and skills nurturing its emergence, and also considers factors that may limit its realization.
- 6The research aims to generate applied academic understanding of community composting's unique role and possibilities in revitalizing city soils and advancing anti-colonial food waste management.
Direction of conclusions
Each author conclusion is recorded only as a coded direction per topic. Read the original for the conclusion itself.
- Compost / nutrient cycleMixedWith caveats
- Community cohesionMixedWith caveats
Abstract and stored text
OpenAlexThis paper explores human, soil, compost and food waste interactions in a community composting initiative in Australia. Drawing on an ethnographic study in 2 Australian cities – Sydney and Canberra, this paper identifies the emergence of a “composting ethic” among participants that is animated by three forms of learning and doing: (1) noticing and attending, (2) embodying and (3) experimentation. Fieldwork analysis is contextualised in relation to literature from the environmental humanities, discard studies and learnings from First Nations Australians and their ontologies. By bringing these empirics, key literature and ontologies together, this paper aims to deepen understanding of the opportunities and challenges of community composting to reduce negative environmental impacts and support anti-colonial practices of discard. It does this by identifying the characteristics of a composting ethic and the contexts and skills capable of nurturing its emergence. Attention is also paid to what may limit realisation of such an ethic. Overall, this paper aims to generate further applied academic understanding about the unique role – and possibilities – of efforts to revitalise and grow city soils and advance anti-colonial food waste management through community composting.
Why it matters for urban farming
This paper highlights how community composting fosters a 'composting ethic' through practical learning and interaction. For citizens involved in urban farming, composting is more than just waste management; it's about building a deeper connection to the environment, understanding soil health, and forming community. It suggests that by actively participating in composting, urban farm members can develop valuable skills and a shared ethos that strengthens their farming efforts and contributes to a more sustainable, localized food system. It also touches on anti-colonial practices, which can be interpreted as empowering local communities to manage their own resources.