The City of New Bedford and the Greater New Bedford Regional Refuse Management District are partnering with Black Earth Compost to launch a new curbside food scrap collection incentive program for New Bedford residents. The program provides residents with another convenient option to reduce household trash by having food scraps collected directly from their homes and transformed into nutrient-rich compost. Diverting food waste also helps return valuable nutrients to the soil and preserve capacity at the Crapo Hill Landfill for materials that have no better disposal option.
To encourage participation, the City and Refuse District will provide free starter kits to the first 100 New Bedford residents who enroll in Black Earth Compost’s curbside collection service. Starter kits are funded by the Greater New Bedford Regional Refuse Management District. Participating households will also receive a voucher from Black Earth Compost each spring redeemable for a one cubic-foot bag of finished compost at participating garden centers.
“Providing residents with convenient and accessible composting options helps strengthen our community’s waste reduction efforts while creating a valuable resource from materials that would otherwise be discarded,” said Jennifer Vieira, Director of the Department of Facilities & Fleet Management. “By expanding the options available to residents, we can provide greater flexibility for households to choose the food waste diversion method that works best for their needs and lifestyles.”