This past fall, newcomers joined the trash day lineup in East Somerville: Bright green, top-latching bins, perched on curbs next to the trash, recycling and yard waste receptacles.
They’re vessels for the city’s food waste collection pilot program, which has been running in the neighborhood since October. The pilot is meant to determine the impact of free curbside food scrap pickup on waste reduction and rodent activity, and to gauge Somerville’s appetite for the service, which is already available in neighboring cities such as Cambridge and Medford.
But the city wants even more green bins to join their black and blue counterparts. “Enrollment is lower than we’d like, said Kate Bossingham, the environmental policy manager for Somerville’s Office of Sustainability and Environment.
Right now, 850 slots are available, and the pilot’s capacity, which ramps up each quarter, will eventually grow to 1,200. As of this spring, just 364 households were participating, she said – an enrollment rate of 43 percent.
Spreading the word
To be eligible for the pilot, households must be in East Somerville, within the borders of Interstate 93, Route 28 and Washington, Crescent and Caldwell streets. They must be in a building with six or fewer units, and not already pay for a similar service. The pilot is set to run through mid-2027, and pickup and composting are handled by Maine-based partner Garbage to Garden. (Households can check their eligibility and sign up here.)
The city chose East Somerville for the pilot because it’s “our most diverse neighborhood,” said Bossingham, and because, according to data from Garbage to Garden, it has the lowest density of people who already pay for food scrap pickup. It was “an opportunity to bring this to people who maybe hadn’t composted in the past,“ Bossingham said.
To get the word out, the city sent mailers in the fall, and has partnered with climate change nonprofit Mothers Out Front for a door hanger campaign. Besides that, they’ve relied on word of mouth, Bossingham said.
Hoping to bolster awareness this spring, the city held a compost giveaway at Glenn Park Community Garden on Tuesday, during Sustainaville Week. All Somerville residents could bring their own container and fill it up with compost provided by Garbage to Garden.
Planting seeds
One happy early adopter is science teacher Leanne Darrigo. A decades-long resident of East Somerville, Darrigo helps run the Glenn Park Community Garden, and tends a plot there that currently bursts with yellow tulips.
“I’m a fan of compost,” said Darrigo, who also grows raspberries, alliums and cherry tomatoes. She and the other gardeners have tried making their own compost in the community garden over the years, she said, but without success.
Darrigo has been part of the food waste pickup pilot for about six months. In general, “it’s super convenient,” she said. Pickup is the same day as trash and recycling. Her trash is less smelly, and she suspects fewer rats have been visiting her family’s barrels. Her only complaints are that the compostable bags break easily, and that it was tough to drag another barrel out to the curb during this snowy winter.
Darrigo is glad her garden hosted the compost giveaway, and has high hopes for the pilot. “I’d like to see it be successful for East Somerville,” she said. “I’d like us to be able to lead the way for the rest of the city, if we can.”
Getting off the ground
The Office of Sustainability and Environment has been working closely with SomerStat to evaluate the pilot, Bossingham said. They’re looking at things such as total waste collected, household feedback and retention and the impact on rodent-related complaints.
The information they collect will help the city “make choices about what composting in Somerville looks like in the future,” she said, whether that’s free or subsidized citywide pickup, drop-off bins or something different.
Even with the lower-than-planned enrollment, participants have composted more than 35,000 pounds of food waste since the pilot began, Bossingham said. More than half of households who responded to an optional survey were composting for the first time, she added, and feedback has been very positive.
The only real problem so far, she said, has been getting the word out. “It’s a process,” she said, “having face-to-face conversations and figuring out what types of outreach are going to reach people and convince them to try this new thing.”
Interested in being part of the pilot? Check your eligibility and sign up here.
Cara Giaimo is a journalist and musician. She lives in Somerville with her wife, their two cats and numerous backyard rats.
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