Curbside composting questions — addressed

If you’re considering curbside composting, you may be wondering: Aren’t I just inviting a bunch of critters over for dinner? Won’t my home smell like a rotting kitchen?  Why should I waste my time, money, and space?

We interviewed two subscribers to Black Earth Compost (BEC), Denise and Diana, about their experience.

#1 Cost

Costs vary depending on the frequency of pickup. “$11.99 per month — the cost with the smaller bin — is a steal,” says Denise. Some people add a small countertop container for convenience, also inexpensive. (See Steps to Take for a full list of costs.)

Moreover, the costs will go down as the number of subscribers increases. “The beauty of Black Earth Compost is that the more people who do it, the less expensive it becomes,” explains Diana. “So, as the more affluent residents of Framingham adopt it, it will become a more accessible option for lower income families in Framingham.”

Diana notes that the City of Framingham is offering BEC starter kits to families (while supplies last).

“If our community takes it upon themselves to divert 40 percent of the trash to composting instead of to landfills, it will end up costing us less as a community,” she says. “The city is going to have to pay larger and larger amounts to ship our trash further and further away to landfills. If we are shipping less trash because we are composting some of it, it will cost us less in taxes.”

#2 Space

Denise lives alone in a two-bedroom condo with a dog. Because she has a smaller space, she has a smaller compost bin. Her tip for those living in small spaces: Collect food scraps in a small container in the kitchen, rather than the bin itself. When the container is full at the end of the week, you can empty it into the bin. If you can, put the bin outside.

Diana does the same: “It’s barely taking up space.” If space is an issue, you can choose the weekly pickup schedule, allowing you to use the smaller bin.

#3 Time

Once you get used to it, organics composting becomes automatic — just one more step of sorting the trash, as easy as recycling. “It’s no extra time at all,” says Diana, “maybe two minutes extra to bring it out to curb on a separate day than trash day.”

#4 Odors and animals

Compostable container liners and tight-fitting lids will help minimize odors. BEC offers a variety of other tips.

“I haven’t had any problem with smell whatsoever,” observes Diana. “I do a lot of cooking from scratch — composting bones, meat, fat, veggies —  but there’s no smell. Even in the summer without AC in the kitchen, the dog ignored the bin completely.” 

“If something smells, just put it outside, like you do with trash if it gets smelly,” adds Denise.

#5 Is the effort worthwhile?

 Besides reducing the city’s trash disposal costs, curbside composting is good for the planet – in more ways than one.

“Landfills are one of the largest driving forces of climate change, because of methane and CO2 produced from landfills,” says Diana. “With curbside composting, we’re diverting waste away from landfills and turning it into something so very useful and vital for the whole planet.”

Curbside composting also helps solve a looming problem: It’s estimated that all of the landfills Massachusetts uses will be full by 2030. 

“We are at a critical point now where we better start doing something, otherwise we’re gonna be in trouble,” cautions Denise. “A lot of things that are going into our landfills don’t have to be in our landfills.”