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Medford and Garbage to Garden Teaming Up to Bring Free Curbside Composting to Residents this Summer

Medford and Garbage to Garden Teaming Up to Bring Free Curbside Composting to Residents this Summer

Free curbside composting program will begin on July 1, 2024
Sign up at medfordcomposts.com

(MEDFORD) — The City is partnering with Garbage to Garden to launch a free municipal curbside composting program, Mayor Breanna Lungo-Kohn announced. This collaboration aims to reduce waste, promote composting, and contribute to the city's commitment to creating a greener and more sustainable future.

Beginning July 1, 2024, this program will be free for eligible Medford residents that opt in to participate. Enrollment for this first year of the program is limited to 6,000 households. Residents can join the waitlist now at MedfordComposts.com. Residents who want to secure a spot in the free program and don’t want to wait to start composting can begin curbside service immediately with Garbage to Garden at the City’s preferred vendor rate of $8.99/month.

“This shift to a municipally-funded composting program removes cost barriers for residents, expands access and adoption, and will help reduce our community’s carbon emissions,” Mayor Lungo-Koehn said. “We encourage residents to join this partnership with Garbage to Garden early and help us reach our sustainability goals.”

Composting supports key goals set by the City in the Climate Action and Adaptation Plan, which aims to reduce emissions by 50 percent by the end of the decade and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. By restoring local soil health through composting, our environment becomes more resilient against climate change. Healthy soil is also more effective at drawing down carbon, helping Medford offset emissions.

Key features of Medford’s Curbside Composting Program:

  • Free for Residents: To be eligible, residents must live at an address with 4 units or fewer. Opt-in is required to participate. Enrollment will expand each year to encourage widespread participation and make sustainable waste disposal more accessible.
  • Convenient Curbside Collection: This service is aligned with trash collection. A wide range of items are accepted, including all food scraps: meat, bones, dairy, napkins and more, reducing what needs to go into the trash.
  • Environmental Benefits: Composting reduces the amount of organic waste in landfills, leading to lower greenhouse gas emissions, and helping to combat climate change. Made at local farms and composting facilities, the finished compost will be used to enrich our local soil and will be made available to participating residents.
  • Educational Outreach: Through an educational outreach campaign, Garbage to Garden will inform residents about the importance of composting, which items are accepted, and the positive impact on the environment. Informational materials supporting best practices will be provided to residents.

With widespread adoption, Medford residents can help make this program a leading example of sustainable waste management. Visit medfordcomposts.com to learn more and sign up. If you have any questions regarding the composting program, please contact Garbage to Garden at 617-977-4547 or email them at info@garbagetogarden.org. This project is funded in part by a grant from the MassDEP.

Please note that the composting program is part of the City's new waste management system. WM will continue to provide trash and recycling collection services. With the addition of composting to the City's municipal waste services, an updated trash and recycling booklet and calendar will be released to the public later in the Spring.

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  • Composting
  • Trash and Recycling