Feedback Organic Recovery: Transforming organic waste into fresh veggies
David Sivyer started Feedback Organic Recovery in 2013 to help reduce the amount of food waste ending up in landfill. Eight years on, he and his team have converted a whopping one million litres of organic waste into compost.
This compost has been used to enrich the soil at Feedback Organic’s urban farm in Cardiff Heights where delicious fresh produce is grown, harvested, boxed up and delivered to people across Newcastle. A perfect closed loop.
David’s eco-friendly business idea was born when he stepped away from the hospitality industry to come back and work on his family’s Hunter Valley farm. It was during this time that he thought up an innovative way to tackle the food waste problem.
“Food waste accounts for 35% of rubbish going to landfill and that really adds up with environmental impact and we need to curb that somehow,” he said.
In the beginning, David canvassed cafes around Maitland to see if he could collect their food waste. Seraphine Cafe at Maitland Regional Art Gallery was the first to jump on board.
Today, David and his team of seven collect food waste from 25 Hunter businesses and 45 households.
These local cafes, businesses, households and schools put aside their organic waste in sponsored bins that the Feedback team collects and cleans each week.
“We really appreciate the community that is a part of it all,” he said. “Without their participation, cooperation and feedback, the operation would be vastly different.”
Loyal supporters across Newcastle include Estabar at Newcastle beach, Hunter Organic Foods, St Therese’s Primary School at New Lambton and Suspension in Hamilton.
The collected organic waste is manually turned into nutrient-rich compost that helps to grow a colourful assortment of seasonal, organic vegetables at Feedback’s one-acre urban farm.
Originally, David sold this produce at the Newcastle City Farmers Markets, but when COVID-19hit, he made the decision to sell the produce via home delivered FeedBoxes that Novocastrians can subscribe to for $50 a week.
The boxes are filled with seasonal fruit, vegetable and herbs that have been pulled from the ground just hours before delivery.
“It’s a bit of a different approach to managing food waste and food production,” David said. “We see waste as a resource.”
David’s business has also evolved to have educational components. He teaches the art of composting and urban farming through his popular One Hour Farmer program. One Hour
Farmer sees him invite the wider Newcastle community to visit his urban farm and get their hands dirty with the team.
“The community gets to meet each other and get an understanding of where their food comes from and where it goes, how it’s produced and really getting an understanding of how much of a problem food waste can be but then seeing the waste as a resource as well,” he said.
David is passionate about kids getting on board too and has developed the Feedback Futures program where he partners with schools and invites students on day trips to the farm.
“We want to increase community awareness about the importance of managing food waste now and into the future,” he said.
A major win for the Feedback team was being selected to take part in the University of Newcastle’s Integrated Innovation Network Validator program during 2020 and also being awarded student entrepreneur of the year.
The program has been a big support for their business, steering them towards growth opportunities and giving them insights on where to put their focus.
"Identifying where our strengths are, what we could put more time into and also where to spend less time has been a fantastic outcome,” David said.
David’s next goal is to help people prevent unnecessary food waste in the first place.
He plans to open up further collaborations with industry experts and foundations with support from an innovation partnership with the NSW EPA’s Love Food Hate Waste program, as well as continuing to develop existing relationships with the businesses and organisations he already works with.
“We’re really starting to drive change around food waste and food production and it’s exciting,” he said.