CLICK HERE to download the preliminary program and
registration brochure as a printable PDF
Tuesday 15 June 2021
DEMONSTRATION DAY
Sponsored by: FOCUS enviro
See grinders, screens, turners and other equipment in operation with live demonstrations and take the opportunity to see the equipment up close, compare different models and meet with suppliers all in the one place.
WELCOME FUNCTION
Sponsored by MRA Consulting
Join us after the Demonstration Day for an evening of drinks, canapes and networking with the exhibitors, speakers, sponsors and other attendees.
Venue: Pergola (Crowne Plaza Hunter Valley)
Wednesday 16 June 2021
Registration, Tea and Coffee
OPENING PLENARY
Peter Olah, National Executive Officer – Australian Organics Recycling Association
Welcome and housekeeping
Peter Wadewitz, Chair – Australian Organics Recycling Association
Official welcome
Hon Trevor Evans MP, Assistant Minister for Waste Reduction and Environmental Management
Opening address (livestream)
Jeff Lowenfels, Author – The Teaming Series Books on Organic Growing (USA)
KEYNOTE PRESENTATION: Teaming With Microbes: AORA needs the soil food web and so do your customers!Australia’s oldest tree is a huon pine located on Mount Reed and believed to be about 2,000 years old. How did it survive so long without ever being fertilised or having pesticides applied to it? In an extremely humorous and entertaining presentation, Jeff Lowenfels will show you and why compost, soil conditioners and mulches should be of interest to all who grow plants.
Dr Jeff Baldock, Soil Scientist
KEYNOTE PRESENTATIONL Soil Organic Matter: Functions and the role of organic amendmentsThe beneficial role of organic matter and its component fractions on soil function will be dis-cussed. The composition of these fractions will be defined and used to identify the characteristics of organic amendments required to achieve particular functions in soil. The ability of infrared spectros-copy to indicate the suitability of organic amendments to achieve a desired function will be presented.
A COMMON VISION
Craig Cosgrove, Komptech CEA
Platinum Plus Sponsor Presentation
Dr Maryam Esfandbod, Prof Chengrong Chen & Dr Mehran Rashti, Griffith University, Dr Georgina Davis, Queensland Farmers’ Federation & Veronica Dullens, AIEN
Pathway Towards Zero Waste: Applied Network for Recycled Organics and Waste Management (ANROWM)
ANROWM is an industry network focussed on shifting the paradigm from waste disposal to resource recovery. ANROWM brings together the State/federal Government, Industries (wastes and recycled organics), Researchers, Environmental consultants Growers and Farmers around Australia.
Virginia Brunton, MRA Consulting Group
Mandating Organics: The rest of the world provides options To identify policies and mechanisms and determine their success in diverting food and or garden organic (FOGO) waste from landfill, this review focuses on organics collection legislation in American and European countries of comparable socioeconomic status.
International Compost Industry Leaders Panel
- Susan Antler, Executive Director, Compost Council of Canada
- Frank Franciosi, Executive Director, US Composting Council
- Dr Stefanie Siebert, Executive Director, European Compost Network
- Percy Foster, Chief Executive, Composting and Anaerobic Digestion Association of Ireland
INFORMED OPINION: FOGO
Tom Connolly, FOCUS Enviro/EDGE innovate
Platinum Plus Sponsor Presentation
Geraldine Busby, Encycle Consulting
FOGO and MUDs – Developer perspective and solutions for local government Increasing housing density and government initiatives towards implementing FOGO collections present opportunities for best practice waste management in MUDs. Being aware of different perspectives and gaining knowledge of what is possible for FOGO will facilitate not only collection but processing from the built environment.
Dr Harrie Hofstede, Spartel
FOGO Organics Under Control: Comparison of Two Regional Case Studies: Technology and compost product outcomes The paper reviews two approaches to FOGO recovery. Goldfields Shire in Victoria, which has a voluntary based participation system, and Bunbury Harvey Regional Council, which introduced a compulsory system. The paper makes a comparison on the collection, processing and compost quality.
Amanda Kane, NSW DPIE
FOGO Deep Dive – NSW gets its Scrap Together The NSW government took its investment into new FOGO collection services a step further in 2020, with a deep dive into household behaviours to make the most of the green lid bin. The result was Let’s Get our Scrap Together campaign. This presentation will highlight the findings from a three council trial and plans to roll it out statewide.
INFORMED OPINION: CARBON
Johannes Biala, CROWN, UQ
The potential for enhancing soil carbon levels through the use of organic soil amendments Application of organic amendments such as livestock manures and compost is commonly listed as a strategy with potential to sequester carbon in agricultural soils and contribute to climate change mitigation. The objective of this study was to evaluate this potential for Qld, by collating and analysing information on organic amendments and modelling SOC sequestration in illustrative cropping locations.
Dr Mahesh Venkataramaiah, CrabFish Advisory (India)
Microbes and their applications to enrich soil organicsAgricultural soils have low organic matter content and are more susceptible to erosion, desertification, and climate change. Microorganisms present in the soil have various properties to decompose the organic carbon fraction like Cellulose, lignin, hemicelluloses, chitin and lipids present in soil organic matter.
Declan McDonald, Regen Soils & Bill Grant, Blue Environment
Incorporating composts into cropping systems Use of compost on cropping land is constrained by poor understanding of how compost works. Transformational change in management of cropping soils requires more strategic management of carbon inputs as an energy source for microorganisms.
Aurel Lübke, Compost Systems (Austria)
KEYNOTE PRESENTATION: Review – 30 years composting in Austria Austria has a mix of high populated metropolitan areas and difficult to access, thinly populated mountain regions. Around 500 composting facilities process 1.5M tons of organic waste, ranging from very small to >100,000 t/year capacity. Over 30 years, many lessons have been learnt – from contamination, to cost impact and harvesting results between decentralised solutions and large metropolitan plants.
CONFERENCE DINNER
Sponsored by: Hitachi
The Conference Dinner is traditionally a highlight in the AORA Annual Conference program and provides an opportunity for the participants to relax and engage in the type of networking that is vital to furthering the recycled organics industry.
Venue: Merlot Room (Crowne Plaza Hunter Valley)
Thursday 17 June 2021
Registration, Tea and Coffee
ENGAGED COMMUNITIES
AORA Study Awards for Advancing Organics Recycling
Awards sponsored by Komptech CEA
Supported by CROWN University of Queensland
Tim O’Neill, Engineered Compost Systems & Mike Lord, Mike Lord Consultancy
Process Quality: The cost-effective method to control compost odour This presentation will document how science-based and well executed design, when combined with good operations, will reliably and significantly reduce odour emissions, and should be considered as a cost-effective alternative to completely enclosing the process.
Dr Harrie Hofstede, Spartel
FOGO Organics Under Control: Comparison of Two Regional Case Studies: Technology and compost product outcomes The paper reviews two approaches to FOGO recovery. Goldfields Shire in Victoria, which has a voluntary based participation system, and Bunbury Harvey Regional Council, which introduced a compulsory system. The paper makes a comparison on the collection, processing and compost quality.
Jillian Risely, Metropolitan Waste and Resource Recovery Group
Recovering commercial and industrial food waste in Melbourne The Victorian MWRRG has identified C&I food waste as an opportunity to divert waste from landfill and put it to better use. Its strategic analysis, comprehensive data and a new guide to support businesses will contribute to meeting the ambitious objectives of Recycling Victoria: a new economy— the Victorian Government’s circular economy policy and action plan for waste and recycling.
Lily Barnett, Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation in partnership with AORA and ABA
A National Compostable Packaging Strategy for AustraliaDeveloped in consultation with a wide range of stakeholders across industry and government, this holistic strategy outlines the actions to be taken collectively to ensure that certified compostable packaging is used appropriately and helps to facilitate a circular economy for packaging and food waste.
INFORMED OPINION: IN THE FIELD
The Honourable Penelope Wensley AC, National Soils Advocate (TBC)
National Soil Strategy
Dr Greg Bender & Norman Marshall, Australian Soil Management
Demonstrating the benefits of compost as a cost-effective input for broad-acre cropping in NSW Compost is an important tool in our soil regeneration and carbon farming programs, however, the value proposition for use of compost in broad-acre cropping remains elusive. This presentation reports on good progress to date.
Angus Johnston, BioCarbon Soil
0.25% by 2025Agriculture is a large and valuable market for composted soil amendments that are consistent, clean and matured. BioCarbon Soil makes the case for an industry wide commitment to a limit of 0.25% physical contamination in composted soil conditioners by 2025.
Dr Paul Lamble, Peak Water Consulting
How using compost on sports fields delivers recreation, environmental and economic outcomes Sports fields with compost amended soils and the correct turf have a higher carrying capacity, lower water demand and more fertile soils than fields built without any soil amendment. Furthermore, they are more cost effective than synthetic alternatives.
INFORMED OPINION: WHAT’S NEXT?
Simon Leake, SESL Australia
ACCC vs Woolworths. Any lessons for the compostable plastics industry? In 2019 the ACCC prosecuted Woolworths for misleading and deceptive conduct over the claim that certain picnicware was biodegradable and compostable. The ACCC lost its application and had costs awarded against it. The reasons for the judgement and the evidence presented and used at the trial have implications for the future of the bioplastics industry.
Rowan Williams, BASF
Platinum Plus Sponsor Presentation
Sam Oakden, Fight Food Waste Australia
National food waste strategy Australia generates almost 300kg of food waste per capita every year or 7.3 million tonnes of food waste across the entire production and consumption chain. In Dec 2020 the Australian Government partnered with industry, NGO’s and all levels of Government to form Stop Food Waste Australia. This presentation will provide an update on the implementation of the national strategy and how business and government can work together to capture more value from this $20b+ cost/opportunity.
CONFERENCE CLOSE
Prof Nanthi Bolan, University of Newcastle/CRC for High Performance Soils
The ground’s generosity takes in our compost and grows beauty: Compost promotes soil health and productivity This presentation will cover the value of compost in improving physical (e.g., soil structure/porosity etc), chemical (e.g., nutrients inputs, CEC etc) and biological (e.g., carbon source, microbial diversity and function) fertility of soil.
Peter Wadewitz, Chair AORA
Conference wrap up and closing remarks
Every effort has been made to present all the information contained in this website as accurately as possible. The organisers reserve the right to change, without notice, any or all of these details.
