The Albanese and Andrews Labor Governments are set to divert an extra 50,000 tonnes of Victoria’s food and garden waste from landfill each year.

The $3.56 million co-investment will allow waste management business, Repurpose It, toexpand its facility’s capacity to recycle organic waste.

The project will see Victorians food and garden waste turned into compost – creating high-grade soil blends for nurseries, landscape contractors and builders.

Five concrete containers will be developed to store and break down organic material – allowing metropolitan Melbourne to be able able to process food and garden waste, instead of transporting it to regional compositing facilities.

Based in Epping, the upgraded facility is set to also reduce more than 21,000 tonnes of carbon emissions, while maximising the value of resources that would otherwise go to waste.

The upgrade will create 15 ongoing jobs and support 45 construction jobs during development.

The project’s funding is backed by over $14 million of investments from the Commonwealth Government’s Food Waste for Healthy Soils Fund and the Victorian Government’s Circular Economy Organics Sector Transformation Fund, which both aim to improve the state’s capacity for composting.

The Federal Government’s Food Waste for Healthy Soils Fund is helping Australia recover 80 per cent of its organic waste and halve the amount sent to landfill by 2030.

To learn more, visit dcceew.gov.au/environment/protection/waste/food-waste.

The Andrews Labor Government’s Circular Economy Organics Sector Transformation Fund aims to support Victorian businesses develop new or enhance existing infrastructure to process organic waste more effectively.

To learn more, visit sustainability.vic.gov.au/grants-funding-and-investment/grants-and-funding.