CITY SEEKING APPLICANTS FOR CURBSIDE COMPOSTING TASK FORCE

SOMERVILLE

– Furthering its commitment to sustainability and best practices surrounding

trash and recycling policies, the City of Somerville announces its newest task

force to review feasibility and implementation options for a Curbside Composting

Initiative. Announced this week by Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone and to be co-Chaired

by Ward 6 Alderman Rebekah Gewirtz, who is the Vice Chairperson of the Board of

Aldermen’s Committee on Energy and Environment, the Curbside Composting Task

Force is currently seeking applicants from the Somerville community.

The

Task Force will be commissioned to research best practices for curbside

composting, and provide recommendations on implementation in Somerville,

including rollout, storage and disposal policies, and general regulations. The

Task Force will consist of up to 9 members. Interested community members should

submit a letter of intent to the Office of Sustainability and Environment care

of Jackie Rossetti, along with a current resume or short personal statement

detailing their interest and applicable skills or knowledge. Please email JRossetti@somervillema.gov or mail

information to OSE c/o Jackie Rossetti, City Hall, 93 Highland Ave.,

Somerville, MA 02143. The deadline for applications is Monday, March 24.

“We

are committed to a healthy, sustainable, and environmentally friendly City and

we are also committed to seeking smart cost-savings, and curbside composting

can help us reach both of those goals,” said Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone. “In

addition to our Zero-Sort Recycling program, which has dramatically increased

recycling rates across the City, we are now looking to institute a community-wide

Curbside Composting program that will increase trash diversion options for

residents while lowering solid waste disposal costs to the City and its

taxpayers. We also want to be sure this program emulates the needs and opinions

of the community at large, which is why we have convened a task force to

examine this program.”

“This

initiative is truly one that has risen up from the community. I’ve been hearing

for some time now from constituents who want us to find a better way than

simply sending our food scraps to a landfill or incinerator,” said Alderman

Gewirtz. “I’m eager to get to work with the task force to examine how best to

integrate curbside composting into our recycling program so that we can both

make use of this resource and reduce our solid waste costs.”

Based

on U.S. Environmental Protection Agency data, the Somerville Office of

Sustainability and Environment estimates that approximately 25% of Municipal

Solid Waste in Somerville, after recycling is removed, consists of food waste.

By weight, that’s 5,200 tons of food waste (10.4 million pounds) generated

annually in Somerville, or roughly 130 pounds per person, at a total cost of roughly

$750,000 per year for removal and disposal. Cities that have introduced composting

programs across the country have demonstrated significant decreases in trash tonnage.

Over a several month review period, the Task Force will examine these

statistics as well as best practices for curbside composting to determine how a

similar program might best benefit Somerville.

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Contact:

Denise Taylor 617-625-6600, ext. 2103