ANDREW, COMPOST CENTRAL

Habitat is proud to be the pilot site for Compost Central’s amazing new Subpod community system. We took some time to meet with passionate founder/director/inventor, Andrew Hayim De Vries, to find out what he loves most about his work and what keeps him motivated.

Thank you for taking the time to meet us Andrew! A simple question to start: Where do you live in Byron Bay?

I live in the heart of the Arts and Industrial Estate Byron Bay - just down the road from Habitat! 

How long have you been living or working here?

I’ve lived in Byron Bay for over four years now and love it here.

When did you establish Compost Central?

I started Compost Central in Melbourne 5 years ago and then moved up to Byron in December 2014.  Prior to that I was running ‘Compost Install’ in Fremantle, WA.  

My background is art and green design with over 40 years as a practicing composter!

Since moving to Byron Bay I’ve been focussed on developing my Subpod composting technology that makes mess and smell free composting fun and easy for everyone, from a single household to entire communities. As a bonus our systems grow bumper crops of nutrient dense veggies.

What was the attraction of Habitat as the pilot site for the Subpod community system?

The community vision and the commitment to process organic waste onsite at Habitat just fitted so well with our goal of making composting and growing food a part of everyday life. 

To be able to collaborate closely with a world class live-work community that is just around the corner from Compost Central has made it much easier for our team to develop our Subpod community organic waste system that is now getting interest from around the world.   

Definitely a perfect fit! How do you and your team support the community ethos of Habitat?

We design organic systems that fit with the architectural & cultural ethos of Habitat, but more importantly we are helping to grow community and connect people to nature via the collaborative management of the Subpod systems.

Community values and a connection to our natural environment is a huge drawcard for people moving to the Byron Shire and I’m proud to be a part of helping Habitat support this ethos.

What type of people would be interested in the Subpod? 

Anyone interested in reducing their environmental impact or eating nutrient dense food!

When composted properly organic waste is food for the soil and vital for growing healthy food. But in Australia organics is up to 50% of household waste that ends up in landfill, creating harmful greenhouse gasses and leachates. We need to change this urgently.

Subpod takes the hard and smelly work out of composting and acts as a growth hub within a veggie garden with worms and microbes feeding the soil as they compost your waste.

Subpod fits anywhere people want to convert the resource of food waste into accessible, nutritious food through healthy soil. 

We hope to see it used in backyards, communities, schools, and developments around the world.

What are the plans (upcoming projects) for Compost Central?

Subpod has been developed on the smell of an oily rag by a dedicated team with a lot of heart and a huge vision. 

We will be crowdfunding Subpod on the 12th of March and really need people to get on board and support us by pre-ordering and sharing our campaign with sharing it with their friends for us to take it to the world. 

To find out more and please visit subpod.com.au and sign up to our email list to stay in the loop. 

We will honour some great deals for early supporters!

What do you love about the work you do?

Being a part a community that is focussed on creating solutions for sustainable living systems. 

Creating different environments where people can see and experience how Subpod can be implemented into different environments focussing on composting on location.  

Working with other like-minded businesses and people creating social awareness around converting food waste into a valuable resource.  

If we feed the soil we can feed the world!

Please visit the website for further details on the Subpod and how you can get involved.