Catherine Ashton's project involves looking at a recycling process for the "Groslabs" that are commonly used in hydroponic growing in commercial vegetable production in Australia.
As part of her investigations, Catherine has been working closely with Andrew Conway from AIS Greenworks to look at the issues that surround the current practices of disposing of the slabs at the end of the associated crop life.
Growool manufacturer, Grodan, operate under socially responsible business practices to the goal of achieving a more sustainable world, now and in the future. As part of their sustainability plan, they are actively seeking alternatives to disposing of the slabs in a landfill site.
Catherine is looking to develop a composting process for the slabs that will ultimately see the final product being available for use as mulch in gardens. Further support is also being given to the development of this project by the Nursery Industry Association of Australia.
To further these studies, Catherine will be traveling to France ahead of the main group so that she can visit the Provence Recyclage composting plant in Marseille, as the guest of the Grodan company.
This will allow Catherine to observe first hand how a large scale commercial composting plant operates.
Hopefully this experience will allow Catherine to translate her findings in to a working trial at Chisholm on her return that will ultimately benefit the wider industry in implementing a more sustainable method for disposing of this growing medium.
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