City to Offer Reduced-Cost Curbside Compost Program Through Garbage to Garden
By Ellen Putnam
A compost collection truck for Black Earth Compost
Photo Credit: Nancy Clover
The City of Melrose announced that they will be partnering with curbside compost provider Garbage to Garden to offer reduced-cost composting to Melrose residents, starting immediately.
Curbside compost, which is where food scraps and other organic waste are collected in bins - usually either buckets or small rolling carts - and sent to a composting facility to be turned into compost soil, has become popular in the Boston area in recent years. Black Earth, Bootstrap, and Garbage to Garden are some of the companies that provide this service to individuals and organizations who pay a fee for curbside pickup.
Food waste does not break down easily in a landfill. And much of the cost of dealing with solid waste is in disposal, which is becoming more challenging and expensive as nearby landfills fill up and close and waste needs to be sent farther away. Compost can help reduce the cost of disposal by reducing the total volume of waste that needs to be either burned or sent to a landfill.
Members of Zero Waste Melrose shared information about composting at an event in 2021
Photo From Zero Waste Melrose
Melrose residents who want to take advantage of the partnership with Garbage to Garden can purchase a 12-gallon rolling cart for $25 or a 5-gallon bucket for $10. Melrose customers who sign up with Garbage to Garden will pay $11.95 per month (compared to $19 without the discount), and will receive a $24 annual discount for their city trash fee after they have used the program for six months. Residents can also still purchase backyard compost bins from the DPW for $25 each.
A number of nearby cities and towns have piloted different ways of doing municipal composting: Boston offers free composting in bins around the city where residents can leave their compost, while Medford began offering free curbside pickup last year.
Municipal compost was a topic of discussion in the 2023 local election in Melrose: several mayoral and City Council candidates shared that they themselves use curbside composting services and expressed their support for discounted or free municipal composting.
Residents can learn more about the composting program on the DPW’s website.
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