Gaia EnviroTech partnered with RMIT University to explore the capabilities of digestate from Gaia EnviroTech’s waste organics treatment system.
Digestate, a valuable byproduct of anaerobic digesters, holds immense potential for soil enrichment due to its high nutrient content. The aim is to compost a combination of digestate and other organics (such as FOGO) to create a higher quality compost that can significantly enhance plant germination, growth, and productivity.
The initial findings from the test work completed by RMIT are promising. The report reveals that the addition of digestate to composted FOGO can improve plant growth. The graph illustrates the progression of seed germination over a 28-day period across the experimental treatments.
The data revealed that composted digestate solids produced the highest seed germination rate. Interestingly, composted digestate solids outperformed both of other the treatments containing only composted FOGO and a 50:50 mix of FOGO and digestate compost.
As RMIT and Gaia EnviroTech continue to research the potential of digestate, they work towards a circular economy, where waste is transformed into valuable resources, benefiting both the environment and society.
This project is supported by Sustainability Victoria.