BY ALEX DRISCOLL
Turning food waste into compost earned David Lye the volunteer of the year
Compost King is a name that has stuck with Newport resident David Lye rather unintentionally. The name arose when the Manchester-born import began volunteering at Brookvale’s One Meal two years ago. After selling a business and wanting to give back to his community, David put his hand up to work at the charity. Before long, One Meal Northern Beaches co- ordinator Kim Williams noticed that not all food given to the charity was suitable for people to eat, so they approached David to run a composting program.
‘I don’t know anything about this stuff!’ was David’s initial response to the idea. Fast forward to August 2024, and David was named the Northern Beaches volunteer of the year for his work in recycling food waste.
“I wasn’t expecting anything at all,” David admitted in regard to the award. “My head swam a little bit when my name was called, but of course it is a great honour.”
David’s journey to volunteer of the year comes off the back of several years of community service. Since falling in love with a Pittwater local on a backpacking trip in Australia, and his month stay transforming into a several-decade residency, David has become somewhat of a serial volunteer, working as a surf lifesaver as well.
Though his work as the ‘Compost King’ has gained him the most recognition.
“The compost program is run out of Fisher School, which is a school for kids with special needs in Dee Why,” David explained. “If you go down there, you’ll see we’ve got about 50 big, 220 litre bins where the food scraps are deposited and mixed with brown waste for every bucket of green waste. After 12 weeks it turns into beautiful compost, and we then bag it up and send it to all sorts of places around the state.”
David’s compost is delivered to a community greening section of the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney and community housing around NSW. It even goes as far as Broken Hill. “We’ve got people around the state who are growing their own vegetables, thanks to the compost that’s created here in Fisher Road.”
This ‘labour of love,’ as David calls it, has also partnered with the local disability group Up and Over. Each week, a group of 18 to 24 year olds associated with the program help David turn, water and bag the compost. “It’s really good working with these guys because they’re learning skills, they’re learning to work in a team, and they’re also just really fun to work with.”
Though he never expected it, composting has become a significant passion of David’s, and he encourages anyone who can to get started on one. He recommends starting off with a simple barrel of worms before progressing too far, as well as being conscious of the food waste you are going through and thinking of better ways to dispose of it.
Though the moniker of ‘Compost King’ might evoke images of dirt, worms and rotten food scraps, it’s one that David, through his work, is immensely proud of. “It seems to have stuck – runs off a tongue quite nicely!” David jokes. “Plus I don’t mind being king of the worms!”