Topsoil Organics has already diverted more than 100,000 tonnes of material from landfill and it’s only inspired them to press forward toward their goal of increasing resource recovery and reducing emissions.
Dan and Lana Nicholson’s Forbes business has again been named a finalist for the region’s business awards: this time not only in the sustainability category but for excellence in large business.
Their plans for their Central West Nutrient Return Centre in Forbes’ industrial area continue to grow with multi-million dollar plans for expansion and a regenerative energy hub.
Dan and Lana founded Topsoil Organics in 2016, producing quality compost for the agricultural sector from food and garden waste.
Two B-doubles a day are already delivered to the centre, where it’s decontaminated and put into a composting process.
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“Agriculture plays such a huge part in the food waste solution because it’s closing the loop, putting the nutrients back in the soil where they first started,” Dan said.
There’s an increasing push, with legislation, to remove organics from landfill, but there’s also been a shift in agriculture.
“A lot of farmers realise they want to do something about soil health and it’s readily available - that’s the point of our business, is to have a really good compost here in the central west,” Dan said.
It’s the circular economy, explains Lana.
“Not only are we returning those nutrients but we’re putting the carbon back in there, and our soils are so depleted in carbon and really improving that soil health which then also helps the farmer,” she said.
The amount of food waste in Australia – 7.6 million tonnes a year – is mindblowing and the Nicholsons continue to work extremely hard to upgrade their facility to increase what they can process.
The next stage of their plans will be a $40m to $50m upgrade expansion, with an under cover area where material will mature for about six weeks before it goes out into the windrows.
But their plans don’t stop there, they’re also planning a $10 to $15 million regenerative energy hub.
With the addition of an anaerobic digestor, they will also be able to capture the gas off that material and turn it into energy.
“The idea of the anaerobic digestor is to make sure our site has enough power to run itself and the upgrade,” Dan said.
“But there’s going to be an over flow of power so some of that power will go into neighbouring businesses.
“From that we’re also going to put more investment into the community by putting an EV charging station for light and heavy vehicles.”
The Nicholsons have their sights set on reducing emissions to zero by 2030, and extending resource recovery to 99.9 per cent.
“I really hope that that is our legacy, that we show a different way of doing it that is improving the whole process from start to finish,” Lana said.
The end product drives them, Dan added.
“We want to invest very heavily on the best technology in the world to make sure we have a site we can show off to the world,” Dan said.
“We’re not a waste company: we’re an ag company that deals with waste material: getting that back into agriculture growing food and closing that loop.”
Topsoil Organics is one of three Forbes businesses shortlisted for the 2025 Western NSW Business Awards, to be presented this Friday 16 May in Dubbo.
Now in its 13th year, the Western NSW Business Awards recognise growth, entrepreneurship, and celebrates business success and resilience.
Henley's Rustics is a finalist for the Outstanding New Business Award and Allwright Bourke Lawyers & Conveyancing has been named a finalist in the Excellence in Small Business category.
Winners of the 2025 Western NSW Business Awards will then represent the region at the State Business Awards to be held in Sydney in October.
