On Friday 29 July 2022, HEIA(Q) made its second return to face-to-face professional development in style with a behind-the-scenes tour of Eat Street Northshore. It was wonderful to catch up with members from all over the southeast, and from as far afield as Kingaroy.

As noted on its website, Eat Street Northshore features over 70 traders including five themed bars, eclectic shops and micro restaurants offering delicious dishes and tasty treats from six of the world’s seven continents including Asia, Australia, Europe, North America and South America. Eat Street Northshore is located just 15 minutes from Brisbane Central Business District and 12 minutes from the international airport on a disused historic wharf over the Brisbane River. Covering over several hectares of land, it is built from 180 repurposed recycled shipping containers.

Of particular interest to HEOA(Q) members, Eat Street commenced implementation of new waste-management processes in 2018 and has become a leader in sustainable waste management in Brisbane. Wendy, the venue manager, shared these systems and processes, and showed us behind the scenes of the iconic Brisbane establishment. We learned about the compostable flatware (cutlery) used by all vendors (all their cups, plates and flatware take just 16 weeks to compost), and how oyster shells are collected to restore a reef in Moreton Bay. Even the food scraps don’t go to landfill—they’re sent to Warwick for livestock feed.

Wendy also showed us through one of the commercial kitchens that vendors at the site use for preparation and clean-up, and shared a little about how the 70-plus traders access these facilities equitably.

James from Modular Farms Co took us into their onsite hydroponic container farm. This farm produces up to 3840 plants in a single container. We saw the range of leafy greens and herbs they grow for both Eat Street vendors and for public. From a design perspective we were blown away by this remarkable system—it’s not surprising they won gold at the 2019 Brisbane Design Awards.

Ngaire Mayo
Woodcrest State College<.p>