MCG kicking goals by turning rubbish into compost, bollards for use in nearby Yarra Park

Updated

Have you ever sat in the stands of the MCG and wondered where your child's half-eaten bucket of chips will end up?

Or what about the plastic wrapper from the pie you ate at half time?

Well, there's a good chance your rubbish will end up dumped in the heritage-listed Yarra Park that surrounds the stadium.

But don't be alarmed. In this case, that's a great thing.

Five years ago the MCG diverted 60 per cent of its waste away from landfill, and by last year that had risen above 83 per cent.

The increase is due in large part to an investment of around $250,000 to buy an organics dehydrator that operates in the stadium's basement.

Melbourne Cricket Club facilities general manager Peter Wearne said the dehydrator processed organic waste overnight, turning it into a soil additive to nourish the gardens in Yarra Park.

"Anything that can't be reused as far as a food product is put into that machine, as well as clippings off the MCG surface," he said.

"Over a short period of time it heats it at a really high temperature and it dehydrates that product and takes it down into a usable compostable product."

In the past, a lot of organic waste was sent off site to be composted, but now it is treated on site, reducing CO2 emissions created by transport and opening up their spot to another company.

"There's limited capacity at a lot of these composting sites, so now someone else can compost there while we're doing our own stuff here on site," Mr Wearne said.

Another initiative has been the installation of bollards that are made from soft plastics collected at the ground, such as pie wrappers and cling wrap.

The bollards are sturdy and durable and will gradually replace all the rotting timber bollards which have lined the park's walkways for years.

"For us it's really good because we're taking a product that used to go into landfill, we're turning it into a recycled product, plus we're supporting a local industry," Mr Wearne said.

"I think most people are accepting that we should all be doing the right thing in terms of recycling or reusing or even, really, probably the ultimate aim is to reduce and not use these products in the first place."

The MCC also invested $18 million in a water treatment plant which turns sewage from the local network into Class A recycled water.

The water is used to irrigate the lawns in Yarra Park and flush toilets at the MCG, reducing the MCC's use of potable water by 50 per cent.

A complex waste sorting system, which sees rubbish separated into 22 different streams, ensures more products, including e-waste and batteries, can be recycled.

The MCC was also a founding member of the Sports Environment Alliance, which encourages all sporting clubs to learn from the sustainability initiatives of larger institutions which share their teachings.

Mr Wearne said the next focus would be to try and introduce compostable coffee cups and work with fans to get them to think about what they're bringing into the stadium.

"On a game day, we will put a message up on the big screen about how much we're recycling, just to motivate people and get them to understand," he said.

"The next step that we're looking at doing is more fan engagement ... to maybe think about what it is that you're actually bringing to the football, to make that either a recyclable or ideally a reusable product that you would take away and keep bringing back time after time."

He said the MCG was an iconic venue in Melbourne and as such the MCC felt an added responsibility to do the right thing.

"For us, it's very logical that we should be setting an example and get that message out there.

"Even if that only encourages 1 or 2 per cent of the population to do the right thing, I think we've had a big win."

Topics: recycling-and-waste-management, environmental-impact, environment, australian-football-league, sports-organisations, human-interest, melbourne-3000

First posted