Cambridge to Expand Curbside Composting Citywide in April

The City of Cambridge is taking its successful curbside composting pilot citywide beginning in April. Residents in 1-12 unit buildings will receive composting material deliveries beginning March 26 and compost pickup will begin on April 2.

Eligible residents will receive everything they need to start composting – One curbside compost cart per building and one small kitchen compost bin per household, each with a six-month supply of compostable bags and simple composting instructions.

“It’s just like separating out your recycling,” said Public Works Commissioner Owen O’Riordan. “With this new program, it’s easy to separate food scraps from your trash. Start with something simple, like coffees filters, egg shells, apple cores, banana peels, and other food scraps, and put them in your kitchen bin instead of the trash.”

In 2009, the City set a goal to reduce residential trash disposal 30% by 2020, and 80% by 2050. With that goal in mind, the City committed to expanding the curbside composting program citywide, increasing the program from 5,200 households to 25,000 households (8,100 buildings).

“As one of the first municipalities in New England to offer a citywide curbside compost collection option free of charge, Cambridge is leading the way in waste reduction.” said City Manager Louis A. Depasquale.

Participation in the new Curbside Composting Program is voluntary, but the City hopes everyone will do their part to help Cambridge reach its waste reduction goals. Composting food scraps helps lessen our climate change impact by reducing the amount of trash sent to landfills while processing food scraps into fertilizer and clean energy.

Outreach workers will be going door-to-door to speak with eligible residents beginning on March 27 and continuing through April and into May to make sure they received all of their compost materials and answer any questions about this new City service.

Visit www.CambridgeMA.gov/Compost to learn more and view frequently asked questions. This project is funded in part by a grant from the MassDEP.