UTILIZATION OF WASTE

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 225, 20 June 1944, Page 4

UTILIZATION OF WASTE

Vegetable Strippings

INTERNAL MARKETING PROBLEM

From the Internal Marketing Division’s dehydration anil packing plants there come every day many tons of peelings and strippings, involving heavy expense for cartage to dumps. Experiments are now being made in an endeavour to find a satisfactory way of turning this wastage into a national asset. Proposals include conversion of the material into organic manure by the composting system, drying for cattle food and, in the case of cabbage leaves, which constitute the hulk of the strippings, dehydration for human consumption. The officer in charge of the divisions fruit and vegetable section, Mr. W. Benzies. said yesterday that, in preparing cabbages for export, to the Pacific, it was necessary to trim them down to the firm, tight heart, as the loose outer leaves contracted slime in cool storage. It was recognized that the outer leaves were rich in nourishment, and for that reason as well as because of the heavy cost of dumping, some way of putting them to use was sought. At Hastings they were sent to piggeries and given to people for private composting, but it was not long before those demands were satisfied, and there still remained a surplus. Farmers at present appeared to have more than ample winter feed, and there was no demand for the material for that purpose. The division then consulted compost experts throughout New Zealand, and. their report being satisfactory, constructed a set of compost bins at the Petone packing plant. There were 12 bins, eaeb with a capacity of five to seven tons They were arranged in relation to the output of waste material, so that when No. 12 was full No. 1 would be ready to empty. A similar set of bins was now being constructed at. Hastings, where, it was hoped, they would serve both the vegetable packing plant and a private dehydration plant, which was run in conjunction with the division. The amount of material available was five to 10 tons a week. Meantime experiments were being made by experts to find the best formula for compost. Special difficulties were presented in that the material lacked the variety of ordinary garden refuse. It consisted almost entirely of cabbage leaves, containing 90 per cent, of water. This difficulty would not be so great at Hastings, where the dehydrator would add variety to the material available. It -was at Pukekohe, however, that the disposal of strinnings presented the greatest difficulty. They amounted to two tons an hour, or 20 tons a day. The magnitude of any utilization scheme decided on was such that caution was necessary. •Accordingly other methods of disposal were being investigated. One was to convert the material into a dried form for cattle feed. Another, applying, of course, only to the nutritious cabbage leaves, was to cut them into strips and dehydrate them for human consumption. The division was receiving advice, not only from compost experts, but also from chemists and engineers, It appeared that it would be some time yet before the final answer would be obtained. If the scheme was a success in the North Island it would later be extended to the Christchurch plant, and composting might also be undertaken at Motueka, where apple peelings and cores were at present thrown away.

If composting were decided on, the finished manure would he supplied to gardeners, nurserymen and farmers at cost price. It was not the desire of the division to make a profit out of it, but to turn into a national asset what was now a waste.