The walls, floor and ceilings of the three-storey home are made from a straw-based panel called Durra Panel. The durable, fire resistant panels are made from one of the most ubiquitous wastes on earth, according to Bakker, the hollow stalks leftover from harvest of barley, wheat and other crops. Straw is a problem for farmers because it takes so long to break down, with many choosing to burn it. Perhaps more surprising is the steel frame not so much edible, but it is what cookware is made from of Greenhouse 5.
Bakker has been an advocate for steel for some time, attracting criticism from some quarters due to its carbon-intensive fabrication process. While timber might lock carbon away, Bakker says it comes with a whole host of other sustainability issues. He says the rise of monoculture plantations to meet growing demand for timber buildings is wiping out wild forests and damaging biodiversity in many regions.
He also questions the recyclability of timber due to the glues and chemicals used in some products. Even in the green building space, avoiding polluting and harmful materials is not exactly established practice. Sustainability, seasonality and recycling are practiced widely in the hospitality sector, but you implement these on another level — could everyone else be operating at this level too? A few examples, a few months ago Mitch Watson from Hepburn Springs Mineral Water told me for the first time, he sold more mineral water in kegs than in bottles.
Considering the Sydney Greenhouse was the first to serve from kegs in , that is remarkable. Recently Neil Perry also purchased hundreds of plastic crates, so that his produce can be delivered without cardboard. A business like Rockpool going cardboard free has a massive impact on the waste that gets generated. Physically, dealing with waste is messy, time consuming, dirty and I believe just not necessary.
But an intangible benefit is that a business behaving ethically will attract great staff. People really feel passionate about working for someone who cares. Anyone in hospitality knows the key to a great business is staff, so these work hand in hand.
Ultimately it will be driven by consumers but at the moment it is being driven by owners of hospitality businesses. It is definitely possible. In April the City of Melbourne recently rejected your development plans for a rooftop farm project on Collins Street. It was so disappointing and I was really in shock. Shit happens and I have moved on. I am looking at other locations and I am sure I will be able to secure a site soon.
Once I get an idea into my head, I just have to make it happen drives my poor wife insane! Latest book, film or album that grabbed you? Silo Cafe hosted a private lunch for Captain Charles Moore.
At the end of lunch he gave his book Plastic Ocean. They have the potential to include millions of people and the opportunity to rewild rural land that's no longer being used for farming. They can also deal with waste at the source and put that back into our food system as fertiliser. For me, it's all about the soil: healthy soil means healthy food and healthy people. Q: You've long campaigned for sustainable and bio-favourable design and living.
What are some of the best examples of sustainable living that you've seen around the world? I think living sustainably is an international movement. It's happening all over the world, and it's mainly being driven by younger people. We should look to places like Montreal, which has a tax exemption on rooftop gardens, as does Singapore.
New York is also an exciting place with so many rooftop farms and gardens. In the future I expect to see more cities around the world using greening to cool buildings and growing plants indoors. By , I imagine that buildings in Melbourne's CBD will be covered in plants and households will have some form of aquaponics system with their own fish or urban growing system.
Future Food System upcycles waste to power the house and grow nutrient-dense produce Credit: Dean Bradley. Q: Future Food System is located in in the heart of Melbourne and many of your previous restaurants were based here too.
Why do you think Australia is the right place for your endeavours? My most vivid memory is arriving in Melbourne. I was nine and we drove from the airport through the Sherbrooke Forest, which is about million years old. In Holland, all the trees have been planted by someone. Instead, I was in sheer wilderness. Australia is so difficult to tame, and there's so few of us compared to Holland, where 17 million people live in a place half the size of Tasmania. I immediately loved how wild Australia was and how clean the air was.
In addition, what's so beautiful and different about Australia is that we're a country of migrants. That means you've got this biodiversity of ideas here that you don't have in the Netherlands. The Dutch are very tolerant, but that's different. They don't have the outside influences that we do here. That gives us the ability to move much quicker — for example, Australians are incredibly fast to take up new technology.
Sweden, Denmark and Holland are very good at publicising what they do as being sustainable, but Australia is actually doing incredible things when it comes to sustainability. And Melbourne in particular has a highly creative community that embraces these ideas.
Q: How are you hoping Future Food System will inspire all of us to live a little better? I've tried to keep things simple. I've got one rule, if you can't recycle it or if it's not biodegradable, don't use it. We have a biodigester downstairs, which is essentially a big black bladder filled with the same microflora that's in a cow's stomach, that ferments whatever is in it.
You put organic waste in it and for every kilo of organic waste you put in it, you get incredible fertiliser plus an hour of cooking gas.
We keep crickets in an old esky cooler as a food source. We have a mushroom wall that uses the humidity from the shower and condensation from the hot water service; and the floor is made from recycled concrete and recycled wine bottles. I turned gallon drums into wicking beds as it's a low-tech and cheap solution. Through the tours of Future Food System, we want to highlight and celebrate foods that people can grow on their balconies and in their houses, even if it just inspires someone to start off planting parsley.
It's about having a connection to your food and to the soil. Q: Two top chefs, Matt Stone and Jo Barrett, are living in the house and eating and serving only what is grown inside.
What part does food and nourishment play in this zero-waste system? Good food comes from rich soil, and soil is literally the foundation of the house.
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