Food waste composting comes to Blue Route

Ladles of Love is taking your kitchen food waste and composting it, and the non-profit organisation will launch one of its Feed the Soil pop-up shops at Blue Route Mall on Tuesday March 4.

The programme saves household food waste from landfill while helping farmers grow and sell better produce.

Kitchen food waste is dropped off at pop-up stores for composting and then delivered to urban farmers; thereafter their organic produce is sold at the pop-up store.

Customers pay an initial R200 for a food waste kit, which includes a 5-litre bucket to keep in the kitchen and a 25-litre one to be kept with the refuse bins. Once full, the 25-litre bucket can be returned to the pop-up stand for waste collection and replaced with a new one for a swap fee of R25.

The programme was launched in September 2021 on the Sea Point Promenade and has grown exponentially since then, says Ladles of Love programme director Yolanda Jones.

It now supports more than 100 farmers weekly and has five pop-ups in Sunset Beach parking lot and the French School in Sea Point, Vredehoek, ILoveCoffee in Claremont, and the Constantia Old Village pop-up is moving to Blue Route (“From food waste to compost,” Bulletin, October 31)

“Our farmers are located on the Philippi belt, which includes Philippi, Khayelitsha, Mfuleni, Gugulethu as well as farms in Fish Hoek and Ocean View. All seasonal veg is available from our farms and available for purchase at our pop-ups.

“We are so excited to launch at Blue Route Mall because of their commitment to sustainable projects. We have had so many ask about pop-ups in the south, and now we have the opportunity to engage households, schools, businesses in and around the area to consider supporting local farmers and diverting their food waste away from landfills.”

She says converting kitchen waste to compost ensures nutrient-rich soil for their farmers to continue growing and provide for their families, ultimately reducing poverty, unemployment and food insecurity.

The Blue Route Mall pop-up will be located in the parking area opposite Tiger Wheel & Tyre on Tokai Road on Tuesdays from 9am to noon, allowing customers to drop off food waste once a week.

Blue Route Mall spokeswoman Bronwyn Rabie, says the Feed Your Soil programme helps to promote a circular economy within the shopping centre.

“It’s important to note that Blue Route Mall already collects food waste from our tenants and that our food waste composting has led to a 95% reduction in carbon impact.”