With strike raging on, it’s a great time to consider composting

By Guest

Dear Editor:

What is that smell in the air hovering over Canton and wafting through the 100-degree heat? Could it be all the rotting food waste that has been sitting curbside in our garbage cans baking in the sun since July 1?

While the Teamsters strike against Republic Services is the cause, what really is the culprit is all the food waste in our garbage cans. It’s not just Canton: In Massachusetts, food waste represents over 20 percent of all trash, totaling approximately 930,000 tons annually. About 430,000 tons, or 46 percent, comes from homes and municipalities according to Mass.gov.

So while we wait for garbage collection to resume, I’m writing to ask you to consider an immediate and long-term solution: composting. Ughh! If you can’t visualize yourself engaging in the traditional backyard composting (all that layering and spraying and what about animals?) I have a smell-free, hassle-free alternative: Black Earth Composting Company.

My adult kids finally prompted (shamed?) this Boomer into trying something new: put a special can on my kitchen countertop and put all my food waste in it. Then once a week, put it out on the curb for the Black Earth folks to pick it up and cart it away … and convert it into rich soil that you can use to fertilize your own gardens or donate to others.

I was skeptical at first, but there I was, throwing in eggshells, chicken bones, coffee grinds, trimmed meat fat, all those leftovers getting moldy in the fridge, all the uneaten food off my grandkids’ plates. And no smell, no fuss, and no guilt of wasting food; instead, the satisfaction of knowing that food waste was turning into nutrient-rich dirt … and having clean-smelling garbage cans and garage.

I use Black Earth (check them out at blackearthcompost.com), but there is a cost, about $5 per pick-up (which will get cheaper as more residents sign up). You can also consider home compost machines, even electronic countertop ones that turn waste into dirt.

So instead of having stinky garbage, consider composting as a painless and odor-free way of reducing waste in our landfills, creating rich soil and making Canton “home SWEET home” again!

Mary Shapiro

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