Daniel Mulino (Fraser, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

It's not often that I get to talk about a start-up that ticks so many boxes: a win for the environment, a win for farmers, a win for high-skilled jobs and a win for women in leadership roles. So a big shout-out to Bardee, a three-year-old agtech company based in Sunshine that is tackling the wicked problem of food waste, more than seven million tonnes of which are created every year in Australia. Most household food waste goes to landfill, where it produces the potent greenhouse gas methane, which has more than 25 times the warming power of carbon dioxide once in the atmosphere. At Bardee, about one billion black soldier fly larvae are fed a special recipe using food waste, and in seven days they grow to 3,000 times their original size. The larvae and the manure that they create are separated and then processed into protein and fertiliser products. Bardee's protein replaces fishmeal and soybean protein, the production of which is driving overfishing and deforestation. Bardee's organic fertiliser replaces chemical and mined fertilisers produced with fossil fuels. It also restores soils, which is critical, given that poor soil health is causing significant losses in crop yields.

Bardee was co-founded by Phoebe Gardner and Alex Arnold, who were included in the Australian's top 100 innovators of 2022. Phoebe and Alex met at university through a shared love of hiking. Alex grew up in rural Australia and studied genetics and agricultural science, specialising in food security. Phoebe, an architect, was inspired by Europe's recycling infrastructure after volunteering at the Australian pavilion at the Venice Biennale of Architecture. With $20,000 of seed funding from the University of Melbourne, the pair built a small lab, and venture capitalists came onboard following their early success.

Bardee's current facility diverts 10 tonnes of food waste every eight hours. The company is in the process of a massive expansion in their facilities. Bardee has already offset more than six million kilograms of CO2 equivalent, and has been certified by the Australian Clean Energy Regulator to produce carbon credits. Among the team of 28, eight first languages are spoken, and 80 per cent of its leadership roles are held by women. Working at Bardee are entomologists, geneticists, environmental and data scientists, biologists, ecologists, chemical engineers, analysts, automation specialists and animal husbandry experts. I want to give my congratulations to the team at Bardee for all you have already achieved and wish you the best of luck for your ambitious plans for the future.

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