Local resources in North East Melbourne
The material below currently covers:
- Some local people who give away manure.
- Some local people who give away coffee grounds or husks.
- Some local people who give away sawdust, wood shavings, etc.
- Some local people who collect bee swarms.
- Some local people who prune fruit trees.
- Some local people who build planter boxes, wicking beds or raised garden beds.
- Some local outlets that sell Certified Organic compost.
Please email us if there are any other people that you think should be listed.
Some local people who give away manure
| What | Name | Base | Website | Contact | Notes |
| Horse manure | Banyule Horse Riders | East Ivanhoe | 0418 128234 | Free. The Boulevard, East Ivanhoe. Pile, bulk or self-bag. Call to arrange. | |
| Horse manure | Banyule Horse Riders | Viewbank | 0417 564857 | Free. Banyule Road, Viewbank. Pile, bulk or self-bag. Call to arrange. | |
| Horse manure | Disabled Riding School | Viewbank | www.rdav.asn.au | rdaviewbank@gmail.com | Free but they request a donation for the school. 290-332 Banyule Road, Viewbank. Need to drive into the school when it is open and find someone in charge to organise. |
| Horse manure | North Eastern Horse & Pony Club | Viewbank | www.nehpc.org.au | Dani Mallia 0433 751841 secretary.riders@gmail.com |
Free. 451 Banyule Road, Viewbank. The manure is collected and left at the front entrance for locals to collect. Take as much as you want. All year round. |
| Horse manure | Tandivale Equestrian Centre & Pony Club | Warrandyte | www.tandivale.com | Karen 9844 3882 0488 244420 |
Free. 88 Johansons Road, Warrandyte. Ring beforehand to confirm pickup time. |
| Horse manure | Various properties | Kangaroo Ground | Various properties on Kangaroo Ground-St Andrews Road and Kangaroo Ground-Warrandyte Road often have bagged horse manure out the front of their property, with an honesty box system for payment. |
Some local people who give away spent coffee grounds or husks
| What | Name | Base | Website | Contact | Notes |
| Grounds | Arthur St Deli | Fairfield | www.facebook.com/arthurstdeli | 9481 3026 contactus@arthurstdeli.com.au |
Free. 455 Heidelberg Road. |
| Grounds | Harvest Food Store | Fairfield | www.harvestfoodstore.com.au/cafe | 9481 4718 shop@harvestfoodstore.com.au |
Free. 108 Station Street. Ring in advance. |
| Grounds | Outer Circle Social Club | Fairfield | www.outercirclesocialclub.com.au | 9486 3119 | Free. 1/299 Arthur Street. Ring in advance. |
| Grounds | The Tea Rose | Fairfield | www.facebook.com/thetearosetea | 9486 3518 | Free. 25 Railway Place. Ring in advance. |
| Grounds | Three Locals | Fairfield | www.facebook.com/threelocals | 9078 6579 | Free. 127 Station Street. Ring in advance. |
| Grounds | Scintilla Cafe | Heidelberg | www.cafescintilla.com.au | 9458 2126 | Free. 131 Burgundy Street. |
| Grounds | Black Vice Cafe & Roastery | Hurstbridge | www.blackvice.com.au | 9718 1386 | Free. 946 Heidelberg-Kinglake Road. Ring in advance. |
| Grounds | Keys Road Cafe | Moorabbin | www.facebook.com/Keysroadcafe | Sam 9555 4383 Keysroadcafe@gmail.com |
Free. Also, free organic waste and egg shells. 3 Keys Road. |
| Grounds | All Are Welcome Bakery | Northcote | www.all-are-welcome.com | Free. 190 High Street. | |
| Grounds | Northcote Social Club | Northcote | www.northcotesocialclub.com | 9489 3917 bar@northcotesocialclub.com |
Free. 301 High Street. Ring in advance. |
| Grounds | Cafe Rustico | Preston | www.facebook.com/cafferustico | 9470 4919 | Free. 267 Gower Street. |
| Grounds | Juanita’s Kitchen | Preston | www.juanitaskitchen.com.au | 0432 186386 admin@juanitaskitchen.com.au |
Free. 219 High Street. |
| Grounds | Red Bean Coffee | Preston | www.redbeancoffee.com.au | 9416 8612 | Free. 121 Plenty Road. Ring in advance. |
| Grounds | Rhubarb Rhubarb Organics | Preston | www.rhubarborganics.com.au | 9478 7344 info@rhubarborganics.com.au |
Free. C247 Preston Market, Cramer Street. Ring in advance. |
| Grounds | Tasties Cafe | Preston | 9470 2260 | Free. 356 High Street. Call to check first then bring your own container and let staff know before helping yourself. |
|
| Grounds | Youngman Cafe | Preston | www.youngmancafe.com.au | 9471 0724 | Free. 492 High Street. |
| Grounds | Cafe Z | Research | www.facebook.com/CafeZResearch | 9437 2022 zulalrogers@gmail.com |
Free. 1530 Main Road. The coffee grounds are in garbage bags round the back. |
| Grounds | Cafe Qtee | Reservoir | 9462 5440 | Free. 287 Broadway Street. Ring in advance. | |
| Grounds | Lady Bower Cafe | Reservoir | www.ladybower.com.au | 9469 5851 info@ladybower.com.au |
Free. 1A Marchant Street. |
| Grounds | Nourish Me Cafe | Richmond | Adrian O’Hagen 9429 4477 |
Free. 131 Burnley Street. Please bring a container to take the coffee with you – if you call first, they can ensure there is plenty for you. |
|
| Grounds | Briki | Thornbury | www.facebook.com/brikicafethornbury | 9416 8828 | Free. 27 Hutton Street. |
| Grounds | Rat the Cafe | Thornbury | www.ratthecafe.com.au | hello@ratthecafe.com.au | Free. 72 Wales Street. |
| Grounds | Reground | n/a (they deliver) | www.reground.com.au | Ninna Larsen ninna@reground.com.au 0466 242575 |
Free. Delivered to your door. Minimum delivery quantities: 2 bins if you live in inner Melbourne or 12 bins if you live in outer Melbourne. |
| Husks | Knight Mattingly Coffee Roasters | Coburg North | www.kmcr.com.au | Customer Service customerservice@kmcr.com.au 9383 2100 |
Free. 5 Milkman Way. Ring in advance. Minimum quantity: 1*240 litre bag. Empty hessian bags available. Pick up: Tuesdays or Wednesdays. |
| Husks | Beraldo Coffee | Heidelberg West | www.beraldocoffee.com.au | 9458 1200 | Free. In large reusable plastic bags. 104 Northern Road. Ring in advance to arrange an appointment to collect as they don’t roast every day. |
| Husks | Quists Coffee | Research | www.quistscoffee.com.au | Doris Niesen-Baruta quists@quistscoffee.com.au 9437 2100 or 0407 424842 |
Free. 2/3 Candlebark Court. Ring in advance. |
Note that coffee husks are not at all the same thing as used coffee grounds. Rather, the husk is the outer layer of the coffee bean that breaks away and gets discarded during the roasting process. So, whilst used coffee grounds are available from cafes, coffee husks are available from roasters.
Some local people who give away sawdust, wood shavings, etc
| What | Name | Base | Website | Contact | Notes |
| Sawdust | Carpentry by Stu | Coburg North | www.carpentrybystu.com | Connor Mcallister 0435 784813 Connorjmcallister1996@gmail.com |
Free ($10 deposit to take a bag and bring it back). Generally the bags are 1½-2 wheelbarrows’ worth and a variety of timber. Only available sometimes so ring beforehand. 69 Charles Street, Coburg North. Entry via Lens Street. |
| Straw | Motschall Stockfeeds | Panton Hill | 9719 7326 | $8 per bale. 395 Kangaroo Ground – St Andrews Road. | |
| Wood shavings | F Fallshaw & Sons | Heidelberg West | www.churchpewsaustralia.com.au | 0438 703530 | Only available sometimes so ring beforehand. 62 Dougharty Road. |
| Wood shavings | Yard Furniture | Preston | www.yardfurniture.com.au | Peter McManus 9480 6171 peter@yardfurniture.com.au |
Free and clean. Bags of 20+kg available to pick-up outside premises (or bring your own bag to take smaller quantities). Ring beforehand to check on availability. 271 Dundas Street. |
Some local people who collect bee swarms
The list below largely comes from The Beekeepers Club. Always ring, rather than text or email, as swarms move on quickly. Also, check to see if they charge for a collection.
| Base | Name | Phone | Notes |
| Box Hill | Peter Rundle | 0457 006 575 | Swarms only |
| Camberwell | John Treloar | 0409 164 234 | Swarms only |
| Diamond Creek, Eltham | Andrew Stanish | 0418 521 869 | Swarms and nests |
| Forest Hill | Adrian O’Hagan | 0408 768 343 | Swarms only |
| Forest Hill | Gavin Preston | 0402 833 228 | Swarms and nests |
| Hawthorn East | Kent Henderson | 0417 599 548 | Swarms only |
| Heidelberg | Mat Lumalasi | 0414 406 136 | Swarms and nests |
| Heidelberg | Justin Brasier | 0407 515 482 | |
| Kinglake | Susan Zuber | 0413 698 140 | Swarms only |
| Manningham | Geoff Neville | 0412 613 135 | Swarms and nests |
| Mitcham | Peter Milic | 0418 340 093 | Swarms only |
| Mitcham | Keith Piper | 9874 8634 | |
| Mooroolbark | Claire Smith | 0425 700 280 | Anywhere from Box Hill to Lilydale; won’t climb ladders |
| Nillumbik | Bryce Copeland | 0484 185 601 | Swarms and some nests |
| Northcote | Morgan Koegel | 0402 496 217 | Swarms only |
| Park Orchards | Stuart Stone | 0408 764 045 | Swarms only |
| Surrey Hills | Peter Dyer | 0425 873 555 | Anywhere from Abbotsford to Templestowe; both bees and swarms |
| Warrandyte | Maureen Koegel | 0425 780 456 | Swarms only |
| Watsonia, Warrandyte & Thomastown | Brad Hales | 0417 549 707 | Swarms and nests |
| Yallambie | Yvonne Ashby | 0409 225 774 | Anywhere within a 20km range |
If you find a swarm, but none of the people above can collect it, you can report the swarm on the Swarm Patrol website and it will automatically notify the three nearest bee swarm collectors who are registered with the website.
Some local people who prune fruit trees
| Name | Base | Website | Phone | |
| Chris Kent | Eltham North | cxkent@bigpond.com | 0419 590952 | |
| Kylie Johnston | Heidelberg West | sherrin16@hotmail.com | 0426 137882 | |
| Mac McVeigh | Eltham | mac@macmcveighgardens.com.au | 0438 034331 |
Some local people who build planter boxes, wicking beds or raised garden beds
| Name | Base | Website | Phone | |
| Felipe Mora (The Grower’s Box) | Greensborough | www.thegrowersbox.com.au | thegrowersboxmelbourne@gmail.com | 0402 400640 |
| Frances Grech (ReBoxCo) | Thornbury | www.reboxco.com.au | enquiries@reboxco.com.au | 0439 368018 |
| Greg Parsons (Yummy Gardens) | St Andrews | www.yummygardensmelbourne.com | greg@yummygardens.com.au | 0431 382230 |
| Mac McVeigh | Eltham | mac@macmcveighgardens.com.au | 0438 034331 | |
| Matthew Laity (How Ya Growing) | Greensborough | matthew.laity@gmail.com | 0449 594845 | |
| Paul Morland (morLandscapes) | Bellfield | www.facebook.com/morlandscapes | morlandscapes@gmail.com | 0413 998900 or 9440 9247 |
| Tom Danby (Mount Coburg) | Coburg North | www.mountcoburg.com.au | twdanby@gmail.com | 0425 711935 |
Some local outlets that sell Certified Organic compost
Many nurseries do not sell Certified Organic compost and, unfortunately, some of these try and pass off their compost as the equivalent of Certified Organic by saying something like it is “100% organic”. Here is a list of local outlets who do actually sell Certified Organic compost.
| Suburb | Name | Address | Phone | Website |
| Box Hill | Bunnings | 259 Middleborough Road, Box Hill | 8878 0900 | www.bunnings.com.au |
| Brunswick East | CERES | Cnr Roberts and Stewart Streets, Brunswick East | 9389 0111 | www.ceres.org.au/social-enterprises/nursery |
| Eltham | Bunnings | Corner Bridge & Silver Street, Eltham | 9430 0100 | www.bunnings.com.au |
| Epping | Bunnings | 592-694 High Street, Epping | 9409 8600 | www.bunnings.com.au |
| Mill Park | Bunnings | 761 Plenty Road, Mill Park | 9404 8400 | www.bunnings.com.au |
| Nunawading | Bunnings | 250 Whitehorse Road, Nunawading | 9845 3900 | www.bunnings.com.au |
| Preston | Bunnings | 120 Chifley Drive (Corner Murray Road), Preston | 9416 6000 | www.bunnings.com.au |
| Thomastown | Bunnings | 11 Dalton Road, Thomastown | 9462 8000 | www.bunnings.com.au |
| Warrandyte | Beasley’s Nursery & Teahouse | 195 Heidelberg-Warrandyte Road, Warrandyte | 9844 3335 | www.beasleysteahouse.com.au |
This is great. Would love to see my local council of Brimbank adopt something like this.
Would love a list like this for Bayside.
Would love a list like this for the eastern suburbs!
I agree, Olwyn!
I think CERES and Bulleen Art and Garden also have Certified Organic compost too.
Thanks for your comment, Jan.
I’ve have contacted both nurseries. CERES do, indeed, sell Certified Organic compost and I have therefore added them to the table above. Bulleen Art and Garden do not sell Certified Organic compost.
Yes great list. Very helpful.
What a great list! Thank you, Guy.
Thanks for this list, much appreciated.
Thanks, Blossom.