{"id":14460,"date":"2020-12-04T10:00:38","date_gmt":"2020-12-04T00:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/library\/?p=14460"},"modified":"2024-06-25T10:35:02","modified_gmt":"2024-06-25T00:35:02","slug":"be-lean-and-green-this-world-soil-day-5-december%e2%80%af","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/library\/2020\/12\/04\/be-lean-and-green-this-world-soil-day-5-december%e2%80%af\/","title":{"rendered":"Be lean and green this World Soil Day, 5 December\u202f"},"content":{"rendered":"

By focusing on food waste, we can all contribute to improved soil, plant and planet health. Every year in Australia over five million tonnes of food<\/a> ends up as landfill, with 35% of the contents of the average household bin being food waste.<\/p>\n

This World Soil Day<\/a> we chat with Dr\u00a0Savindi\u00a0Caldera<\/a>, Research Fellow in the Cities Research Institute, about the application of lean and green thinking to turn food waste into a super dynamic compost. Dr Caldera also provides some tips on fighting food waste to ensure \u2018Good for planet and people\u2019 practices.<\/p>\n

Tips\u00a0to reduce food waste<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Reduce\u00a0over purchasing\u2014plan your meals and keep track of the food\u00a0you are purchasing<\/li>\n
  2. Separate food waste from general waste\u2014make compost at home, provide to community gardens or contribute to collections in your apartment complex or neighbourhood<\/li>\n
  3. Recycle carefully\u2014contaminated recycling takes more time and resources to sort at the waste facility<\/li>\n
  4. Increase your knowledge and awareness\u2014food waste and recycling are simple concepts that have become unnecessarily complex<\/li>\n
  5. Seek out recipes for using the leftovers in your fridge\u2014try out these recipes<\/a><\/li>\n
  6. Advocate for\u00a0regulatory\u00a0support\u2014going forward it is a collaborative effort between compost waste\u00a0companies\u00a0and waste\u00a0supplies<\/li>\n
  7. Champion STEM\u00a0(science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education\u00a0for children\u2014this is where we will see the future unfold.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
    \"Profile
    Dr Savindi Caldera<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Q & A:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    What is lean and green thinking and how did it lead you to develop the 3P (Planet, Profit, People) model?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

    Lean and green thinking focuses on \u2018doing more with less\u2019, becoming more resource efficient and reducing waste. This is an extension of lean thinking which primarily aims to eliminate non-value-adding activities. Before my PhD in Environmental Engineering (Lean and green thinking), I was working in the corporate sector as a sustainability\u00a0specialist\u00a0and noticed that whilst the company\u00a0had\u00a0a heavy focus on lean processes, they always looked at them separately despite the many synergies. For some reason this resonated\u00a0with me but as a graduate I was unable to clearly articulate or demonstrate the benefits, so I made the decision to learn more.\u00a0I wanted to explore how lean and green thinking could help to close the\u00a0loop on food waste; how\u00a0we could use compost to be leaner and greener.<\/p>\n

    The 3P Model resulted from my PhD research into how 13 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in South East Queensland could readily engage in lean and green processes to achieve sustainable business practices aligning with the \u20183Ps\u2019\u2014Planet, Profit and People. In Australia, SMEs make up more than 95% of businesses and due to scale, and\u00a0to financial and expertise limitations, struggle with being sustainable. So, it was interesting to speak with Chief Executive Officers and senior managers involved in sustainability and lean manufacturing to see the actual barriers\u00a0they were facing and\u00a0to\u00a0uncover different opportunities they could leverage going forward. They needed a strategy that would provide the carrot and the stick\u00a0\u2013\u00a0achieving sustainable outcomes plus gain financial benefits. The Model is easy to follow and provides a four-step process for SMEs to engage in lean and\u00a0green\u00a0thinking. My research work on creating value from waste was presented in a Channel 7 news piece<\/a> in December 2017.<\/p>\n

    I also received the QUT Siganto Foundation Medal<\/strong><\/a> for demonstrating excellence in engineering-related research.<\/p>\n

    \"Three
    Dr Savindi Caldera being presented the QUT Siganto Foundation Medal.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Why was Rocky Point such an interesting case study?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

    Although a small company, and one\u00a0of\u00a0the original 13 SMEs, Rocky Point<\/a> had a vision of wanting to be a progressive and sustainable company, contributing to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals<\/a>. Through my PhD study, Rocky Point had identified lean and green strategies that could help them streamline\u00a0manufacturing and, seeing the benefits,\u00a0wanted to continue building on their connection with us.<\/p>\n

    After\u00a0my PhD\u00a0study, Rocky Point was awarded the tender for composting\u00a0food\u00a0waste from the 2018 Commonwealth\u00a0Games, Gold Coast. Keen to share lessons learnt, in 2019 Rocky Point worked with the local city council to pilot projects for the management of food waste produced in the Gold Coast commercial sector\u2014hotels,\u00a0shopping centres, restaurants.<\/p>\n

    Rocky Point diversified their business from sugar cane mulch and\u00a0fertiliser\u00a0to\u00a0producing dynamic products based on value-added food waste. Through trialling these value-add fertilisers, Rocky Point also gave us the ability to engage with end users and we were able to identify key benefits in using food-based waste fertiliser\u2014rather than chemical fertiliser\u2014as compost. End users claimed increased product yield, improved soil and plant health, and\u00a0cost\u00a0benefits. More research is needed, and I am keen to\u00a0collaborate\u00a0with soil experts, to create an evidence base to help people better understand and communicate the clear benefits\u00a0of food-based compost.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    What sparked your passion for the environment?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

    In his recent documentary, \u2018David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet\u2019, Sir David expressed it perfectly when he used the nuclear explosion at Chernobyl to show that the\u00a0environment\u00a0can regenerate without\u00a0us,\u00a0but we cannot\u00a0regenerate without the environment. At 21 years old I represented Sri Lanka, my country, at the Climate Change Championship Programme organised by the British Council and advocated for mitigating measures and reforestation projects. This gave me the passion\u00a0to continue being a champion.<\/p>\n

    I also am passionate about empowering the next generation of Queensland environmental scientists and engineers, particularly engaging with female STEM students, and students who may be the first in their family to attend university, and who are succeeding in the face of significant family challenges.<\/p>\n

    As a sessional lecturer\u00a0in the School of Engineering and Built Environment<\/a> I love being able to share real world examples of lean manufacturing and lean thinking in my master\u2019s course units. Master\u2019s students already have industrial\u00a0experience\u00a0in Australia or overseas, so these\u00a0students are going back to the workforce, they are the change makers. In my lectures I strive to expand their thinking and to instil messages around lean and green\u00a0and\u00a0around UN Sustainable Development Goal 12<\/a>: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    What projects are you currently working on?\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

    I joined the Cities Research Institute<\/a> in 2018 as a Research Fellow\u00a0and am working with industrial stakeholders and partners on four different research projects which all revolve, in some aspect, around sustainability:<\/p>\n