Central West Lachlan Landcare held their AGM with guest speaker Dan Nicholson from Topsoil Organics.

Attendees were provided with an overview of completed and ongoing projects undertaken during the 2022/23 financial period including two Eco Day events for Year 5 students in the Parkes and Forbes Shires, Landcare dinner at Bogan Gate, the inaugural Homegrown Parkes event, Biodiversity Conservation Trust delivery, Paint the Town ReAD involvement, Kindy Days, the NSW Landcare Program, and much more...including our special guest, Costa Georgiadis.

Our Local Land Services Landcare Riparian Grant delivery project was profiled, with three areas remediated under this funding, addressing the ongoing problems associated with the changing climatic conditions that we are experiencing.

It was a pleasure to hear from Dan Nicholson who provided a presentation on the company that he runs with his wife Lana, Topsoil Organics. Last year Topsoil Organics were recognised as the winner of the 2022 NSW State Business Award for Excellence in Small Business and in June this year they were winners of the 2023 Excellence in Sustainability Category at the Western Business Awards.

They encapsulate the Plate to Paddock concept, diverting food waste from landfill, producing premium compost suitable for use in broadacre farming and contributing to long-term environmental sustainability.

Packaged food waste is separated and organics are composted at the Central West Nutrient Return Centre based at Forbes. Topsoil have produced 'Platinum AS4454' Compost since 2021, that is sold to farmers in the Central West as a soil ameliorant.

This compost rich soil is applied to properties to improve soil health and returns carbon and essential nutrients to the soil, which in turn produces food for our supermarkets.

We hear so much about the importance of driving a circular economy and Topsoil Organics are a perfect example of this process working right in our own backyard. They aren't just stopping here, we were thrilled to hear that they have further plans for expansion and look forward to hearing more positive news from Topsoil Organics.

Approximately 7.6 million tonnes of supermarket waste is generated in Australia annually and the majority of this waste goes to landfill. Since they commenced, Topsoil Organics have diverted over 55,000 tonnes of waste with plans to divert 100,000 tonnes by 2030.