‘Garbage Butlers’ Are Saving Tons of Waste From Australia’s Landfills
Not only is the program helping save tons of waste from the landfills, but the position has also changed one "Garbage Butler’s" life and helped him to find purpose and direction.
You might be familiar with the role of a traditional butler but Down Under they are taking it one step further.
In Australia, one in five bags of groceries goes to waste, leading consumers to waste an average of $2,500 a year, according to figures from the Australian government.
Numbers for 2020 from the Australian department of climate change, energy, the environment and water back that statement up as Australians reportedly waste around 7.6 million tons of food annually.
The Garbage Butler program’s goal is to cut down the amount of food scraps that end up in a landfill.
The Garbage Butler picks up the food waste from local restaurants by bike, which is then composted and then goes back into the city’s parks and gardens.
And this particular butler says the position has helped him look inward.
“This job has given me purpose and a reason to wake up in the morning so I’m very grateful for that,” the butler said. "We have some of the highest levels of FOGO (Food Organics and Garden Prganics) waste of any place in Australia. And that makes sense because we have the biggest hospitality and dining sectors in Australia."
Only in operation for a year so far, the Garbage Butler service has already kept saved 100 tons from ending up in landfills.
The 20 participating businesses say having cyclists rather than trucks collect their food waste makes a huge, positive, difference and not only for mother nature.
Before joining the program, one of the butlers didn’t finish school and it was hard for him to find work and he was struggling.
"I just didn't believe in myself, you know, I just looked down on myself,” he said.
Working as a garbage butler has shifted his view and now built up his confidence. Thanks to his job, he is now studying to become an electrician.
"I'm looking to studying to become a sparky (electrician) so I'll be hopefully studying and doing this job. It feels good man, yeah, it feels good," he said. "We give people jobs and then we help them to become better at having a job, learning all the things that you need to be able to have a job and then we help them to go on to get jobs elsewhere"
Not only is the program helping save tons of waste from the landfills, but the position has also changed one Garbage Butler’s life and helped him to find purpose and direction.