Belmont Composts!
Reduce waste. Save money. Save the Earth.
Who We Are
Belmont Composts! has a mission: to reduce Belmont's trash by increasing curbside composting. By sharing information and cooperating town-wide, we can ensure quality, low cost service for Belmont's residents, schools, and businesses.
Belmont Composts! is a project of The Belmont Food Collaborative, Inc., a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in Belmont, Massachusetts.
Why Compost?
40% of your household waste can be composted
Did you know that 40% of household waste can be composted by a professional composting facility? For the price of one cup of coffee per week, a curbside composting company can expertly process all your food waste (including plant, meat, and dairy products) and most paper products, converting it all into nutrient-dense dirt. Diverting compostable material from our waste stream saves our town from spending tax money on landfill fees, saves you from spending money on overflow trash bags, and helps save the environment!
Curbside composting
Simply collect the food scraps and paper products you would normally throw into the garbage and put them into a small kitchen countertop bin. Whenever your countertop bin is full, empty it into a larger bin you keep outside. Once a week, take your outside bin to the curb and the waste will be picked up and taken away to a composting facility. If you desire, you can sign up to receive compost in return.
Advantages over backyard composting
If you successfully compost in your backyard, that's terrific! But many people have trouble composting at home because of the attention and maintenance home composting requires. A suboptimal compost pile can also attract rats. Even if your compost pile is successful, you may be interested to hear that because they can achieve higher temperatures, professional composting facilities can process many things you can't put in your backyard: meat, bones, dairy, cooked foods, pizza boxes, and more.
The Companies Serving Belmont
The Town of Belmont now has a preferred vendor relationship with Black Earth Compost!
The curbside composting companies serving Belmont have different advantages for different kinds of customers. A summary of each program is below.
Curbside composting in Belmont now starts at less than $3 a week--less than the price of an overflow trash bag! Whether you choose a company based on price or on getting the most compost back for your garden, curbside composting is a win for Belmont and for the environment!
Preferred vendor for the Town of Belmont
Key advantages: Discounted rates for Belmont residents. Rat-proof bin; recycles textiles; free yearly compost from its own compost facilities in Manchester, Groton, and Framingham.
Sign up for weekly composting with Black Earth Compost and give your $10 referral discount to Chenery Middle School for their composting pilot!
$119.98 per year for 13 gallons collected weekly.
$38 starter package includes thick plastic curbside bin with locking lid, as well as a sleeve of compostable liners. Free voucher good for a 10lb bag of compost every Spring. Textile recycling available for a fee.
1211 Belmont households signed up as of 7/24/23!
Click below to get to the Black Earth Compost website, then click on the Sign Up button to start your subscription!
Garbage to Garden
Garbage to Garden no longer serves Belmont.
Garbage to Garden subscribers have been switched to Black Earth Compost.
Key advantages: Weekly clean bucket; no annual contract; can have pickups as infrequently as once per month; after 6 months can receive 100% return on compost.
$364/year, $10 start up fee for 5 gallons picked up weekly. Payment per pickup ($7-9 per pickup) and both service and payment can be suspended for vacations. Clean bucket provided each time with wood-rice mixture to absorb liquids/odors. Compost returned after 6 months of service in amounts approximately equal to amount of compost that would be produced by the food scraps picked up (about 20% by weight).
Key advantages: weekly clean bucket, unlimited free compost every quarter; workers paid living wage; no annual contract
$528 per year, 5 gallons picked up weekly, clean bucket weekly. $312 per year for biweekly service. Payment every four weeks. Compost provided quarterly. Pays workers a living wage. Provides jobs for disabled workers.
"I’ve been interested in composting for some time because I feel so guilty about biodegradable material being stuck in a garbage bag in a landfill somewhere. The convenience of curbside composting is super appealing, and I LOVE that I’m able to donate my “share” of the compost to the community gardening initiatives connected through Black Earth!"
Libby Nelson, Belmont resident
”The ability to compost without adding to the vermin problem was a huge sell for us. In choosing Black Earth the biggest selling point of their program specifically was the fact that they have experience working with municipalities, so we felt like there was a much higher likelihood that with good participation this could easily turn into a town-wide program."
Fitzie Cowing, Belmont resident
"As a family with young children we have a lot of food waste and I hated filling the trash with it. We’ve been wanting to compost for a while now but backyard composting seemed like too much effort. Curbside composting is so easy and only costs a few dollars a week. I chose Black Earth because I knew a bunch of other Belmont families were signing up and I hope that it can become a town wide program."
Kristen Rodehorst
“Having a young child and being a scientist, I am worried about which kind of world I am leaving her. Since we became homeowners we have taken several steps to be more responsible for this and composting is one of them.”
Francesca Civano
"I do not like the idea of putting food waste in the landfill and was feeling like it wasn’t a good environmental choice. I feared backyard compost because we have had rats in the past. When I saw that a company would give a discount once we reached 300 subscribers, I jumped at the opportunity.
I love that our solid waste has been reduced and that our leftover food will be returned to the earth like it was meant to be. The receptacle is sturdy and animal proof. I am very happy I took the leap and started this program.”
Rachel Nathan
