SOPHIE: Many people like to start their day with a cup of coffee,
and it's even nicer to enjoy it in a cosy cafe.
But have you ever thought about
what happens to the coffee grounds and food waste
that comes as a result of making that delicious cuppa
and preparing the food that you've ordered?
Stuart Cameron runs this busy cafe in Semaphore,
a beachside suburb in Adelaide.
And he's part of the Semaphore Composting Network
that collects local cafe waste
and turns it into rich garden compost.
It should be mandatory, because it takes up so much volume.
With the composting network,
we did a little exercise over an eight year period.
We saved 50,000 litres of material
which otherwise would have gone to landfill.
So it went to the composters around here.
So it became a very valuable ingredient to produce more food
and to condition the soils.
Tim Walsh is the founder and organiser
behind the Semaphore Compost Network.
Yeah, I always dabble with gardening and did a bit of compost,
and I could never get enough materials for my compost.
I used to do a little bit of fossicking around,
but we were just having coffee with about four of my friends
and Stuart was nearby and we just asked him,
"Where does all your waste food go, Stuart?"
And he said, "We're just waiting for someone to ask."
Tim and the other volunteers
often hold their meetings in Stuart's cafe.
It's very assuring to me
to know that myself and other people around me,
together, we can actually do something good.
Brian's collecting on Wednesday
and Kate and I are collecting on the weekend,
which is working really well.
And we're looking at trialling, maybe, some new system
to kind of segregate in the cafe,
so we don't have to do so much back at home.
I hate wasting time, so I don't want to spend all the time sorting,
when, in fact, in the restaurant,
it's easy to put the eggs in here, the oranges in here.
It makes our job easier, and it's easier for them too.
So how much would you be collecting a week,
and taking to your home compost system?
So it's around 30kg a week.
So most of that is coffee grounds.
If you put the sums around that,
it's a huge amount that we're diverting from landfill.
Kind of aligns with our values. We've made some friends.
And you really feel like you're making a difference.
I felt like recycling was really great,
but I think this is next-level.
It's really brought people together.
Hey, Brett, Courtney. How are you all?
This is what we've got today? Just the one bucket?
The cafe is just 50 metres from Tim's house,
so the scraps don't have far to travel to be put to good use.
And it would be good if it gets done commercially,
but it's even better if it goes locally,
just a couple of hundred yards.
It goes into very nutrient depleted soils.
So we actually get food in the city, close to where we are.
So it ticks so many boxes, and it makes people happy.
Hello. How are you?
Can we grab it? Yep. See you round there.
From humble beginnings at Stuart's cafe,
the composting network has expanded
to several other businesses in the local area...
Here you go, Kate. Kitchen scraps.
..all keen to divert their compostable waste
from landfill to gardens.
TIM: We've got little stickers,
you know, so that it's a little bit of accreditation for people
when they join up, and they get some recognition.
And the only thing we really ask them
is that they actually report how much they divert.
How many buckets have you got?
One more to come. I'll follow you out.
So it's a very informal structure,
and every cafe and every group of composters
is a bit unique, really.
And some cafes do the lot - serviettes and everything.
And some are just doing coffee.
And we just go with it and let it grow.
So how do you go about starting your own compost network?
Tim has some great tips.
I think you start with where you are.
You're probably already having a coffee or a snack
at the place which you might adopt.
Or maybe it's your vegie shop.
You need two or three people,
so that you can go on holidays, and you can share the load.
And then just work out what that proprietor -
and sometimes it's the staff member on the front,
'cause you've got to get everyone on board.
So the champion might be someone in the shop,
and it could be just one of your friends
and you just have one little group.
So we could chop these up, but we've got a lot of compost today.
For whatever reason, in Semaphore,
we just seem to have got a whole cluster,
and there is something special about that.
G'day, Tony.
Got some compost for you.
Oh, good-o. Thank you.
You can do it, I think,
with just starting with somewhere you already visit.
It's great if you're not using any more transport
or doing anything much extra to what your usual routine is.
And the closer it is, the better.
You know, adopt a cafe.