Black Gold
My mom has always been known for having a "green thumb." Anything she tries (and even doesn't try) to grow flourishes in her garden. As far back as I can remember she has grown about 25 tomato plants that we would harvest and jar at the end of the summer. Jarring tomatoes has become an end of summer tradition that lead to the most delicious homemade tomato sauce year-round. When Sunday comes around we simply head to the food closet and open a jar or two of garden tomatoes from 2011. Yes, that's seven years of jars, hence why we need an entire closet to store them!
By now, you're probably thinking, "What's her secret?" or if you're like me, "I'm hungry." Let me tell you, I am not my mother's daughter when it comes to gardening. I love plants because I love the fruits and vegetables they give me, but I can't even keep a cactus alive for more than a month or grow a seedling taller than 6 inches in my apartment. But, last year, I began composting with my mom and, for the first time ever, I effortlessly grew my own green bell peppers! The best part? It was a complete accident!
My mom's garden has what avid gardeners call "Black Gold;" the soil is soft, dark, and rich in nutrients. It is the currency of the earth; the more the earth has, the happier it is; the more you have, the more real money you have. Let me explain.
Help Your Wallet and the Earth
Black Gold is the result of composting, which also reduces greenhouse gases. As bacteria and fungi break down the composted food scraps they release carbon dioxide (CO2) through aerobic decomposition. On the contrary, when organic matter becomes waste inside a landfill it releases methane (CH4) due to the lack of oxygen. As a potent greenhouse gas, methane traps about 25-30 times the amount of atmospheric heat compared to carbon dioxide. Even better, The Marvin Carbon Project has shown that composting can sequester carbon for decades to come, locking it safely underground and out of the atmosphere where it would trap heat. Moreover, healthy soil with healthy plants can act as a sponge to hold water and prevent problems from the increased incidents of extreme flooding. Simply put, good soil can help solve climate change.
Not only that, but good soil can help your wallet. You want your wallet to be heavy, not your garbage. According to Kristie Pecci, the director of the Zero Waste Project, food scraps comprise about 25% of household garbage by weight. In the case of trash, pounds equal dollars. "Communities could be saving a lot of money [by diverting] food scraps and yard waste from the waste stream," Pecci said.
So really, my mom's garden of Black Gold has helped the earth, our city's funds, and my apetite. Those green bell peppers accidentally grew from having the most coveted dumping ground. I was effortlessly planting, or should I say, dumping hundreds of green bell pepper seeds in a 4 x 4 square of soil. Basically, I took out the "trash" and nature did the rest.
Composting Options
Despite watching my mom's garden thrive during the summer and knowing the benefits of us composting together, I feel discouraged. During the summer our compostable and biodegradable materials must go to the landfills because our garden needs a cycle of using and replenishing nutrients, and we have no other option.
Composting has made me more cognizant of the waste I produce and how my mom and I, and our community can do even better! That means more neighbors composting and composting all year long. For those with or without their own garden, there are composting options available in Massachusetts. However, they are limited to those willing to make a small investment. Massachusetts needs to support a way for all community members to be involved in the composting movement.
As much of a need as there is for a FREE weekly garbage truck and biweekly recycling truck, there is for a composting truck. It's certainly not unquestionable at this time though. Cambridge is currently the only city in the Boston area that offers free curbside composting, while other cities still only offer subsidized home composting or composting drop-off.
The success that Cambridge has had since their rollout of citywide curbside organics pickup since April 2018 was thanks to the $1 million investment the city made towards curbside carts, kitchen bins, trucks, marketing, and education. The city's hope is that the investment will pay off in the long run since marginal costs are less expensive. "It costs us about $60 to dispose of a ton of food waste, whereas it costs $100 a ton to dispose of trash," said Michael Orr, the city's Recycling Director, states.
The cities like Newburyport, that cannot afford the upfront costs of rolling out citywide curbside composting, there is still incentive for composting through subsidized pickup. Rather than $10/week, Black Earth picks up for $1.89/week, keeping about 11 to 12 pounds of food scraps out of the city's garbage haul per week per person.
Although many communities around Boston are encouraging residents to be more mindful of their waste through charging for trash cans, and offering free recycling, few offer incentives for weekly curbside compost pickup. The recycling industry is overburdened, and waste disposal is becoming increasingly expensive. Now more than ever, communities need to begin realizing where their trash ends up and that food scraps belong in the dirt.
Call For Action!
Composting is a beautiful first step to living a zero-waste lifestyle. You will notice the mental shift in how you think of not only your trash but all things. You will begin to care about the things in your life more to take care of them and be sure their full lifecycle is seen through. For some that may seem far-fetched, but for the people in a small town in Japan, Kamikatsu, it is reality. Many of us are not mindful about our trash and how one small personal change can create such a vast difference in our local community, our food, our environment, and therefore our health.
Keep in mind that composting is not about having a green thumb. The main point is to prevent organic matter from ending up in a landfill. Here are some ways to get started:
Backyard Garden - Perfect compost is made up of a 3:1 ratio greens to browns turned periodically to provide oxygen to the soil.
Greens = fruit and vegetable scraps, coffee grounds, eggshells, grass clippings
Browns = twigs, leaves, straw or hay, pine needles, shredded paper, sawdust, paper plates, paper towels
City Gardens - If there's a community garden near you, you might be able to find a composter there. Check with your city coordinator to see if you can drop off your kitchen scraps or if you must get a garden plot to be able to participate in composting.
Speak Up! Here's an MIT report that talks about composting across the country, and what elements spurred the adoption of municipal food scrap programs. Check it out and then write a letter to or call your city counlor or selectboard members to tell them about how curbside composting can financially benefit your city and its residents. Ask why you don't have a program and what it would take to start a pilot!
Sign up for a municipal service - Find out if your ctiy has a pilot program in place that you can sign up for! Give the Department of Public Works a call to see what's available.
Dropoff - Project Oscar allows composting dropoff at select locations.
Pay for Pickup: If none of the above options work for you, but you're still passionate about composting, you can sign-up for a private composting service. The company drops a bucket off for you to collect scraps and then picks it up and brings it to a composting facility, leaving a fresh bucket for you. They also offer free soil with your membership. The following are rates of some companies in the Boston Area:
City Compost - $12-25 start-up cost, $5/week, $7/bi-week, or $9/month
Black Earth Compost - $24-34 start-up cost, $9.99/month or $99/year
Garbage to Garden - $15/month
Bootstrap Compost - $40/month
EOMS Recycling - get a quote
Talya Briana is a Massachusetts resident and a Massachusetts Sierra Club volunteer