Compost petition seeds Town Meeting debate

Hernán Salcedo walks more than a quarter mile across Acton Greene to tend the condo complex’s 200-gallon compost bins with a pitchfork. 

Neighbors praise the program, and he wishes the town would do more to help Concordians outside his neighborhood turn food scraps into soil. 

“To me,” he said, “it’s kind of a no-brainer.”

Public works leaders say they’re all for keeping waste out of landfills — but they’re still wary of a pending Town Meeting petition and may argue against it during this month’s proceedings. 

In a town that has adopted several other recent sustainability measures, that opposition might not be popular.

Whoever presents against the idea “will be one of the most hated people in the room,” Public Works Commission member Sven Weber told colleagues.

Warrant article 

The Town Meeting item comes via the Acton-Carlisle High School Sunrise Club. It urges the town to “adopt and negotiate a ratepayer composting plan.” 

It’s a non-binding proposal. Club President Iliana Benson clarified recently that “we’re just hoping to get [the town] to do a cost-benefit analysis.” 

One option could be a curbside pickup system akin to town-sponsored trash and recycling. Another could be a town-run drop-off site.

It’s important for young people to “fight for what we want to happen in the future,” Benson told The Acton Bridge.

The Public Works Commission unanimously opposed the measure for fear of overburdening town staff. The Select Board followed their lead on March 23. The Climate Action Committee voted to support the article. 

Prior efforts

Acton runs a seasonal yard waste compost site at the former town landfill.

Salcedo said he was excited when officials launched a food waste drop-off pilot program with North Shore-based Black Earth Compost in 2022. 

People could bring their scraps to one of two town sites. Black Earth trucked deposits to an industrial pile capable of breaking down even stubborn bones.

Officials discontinued the pilot last July, citing overflowing bins and people contaminating the barrels with non-compostable material.

Salcedo is one of many Concordians still managing homegrown programs. Residents can also pay for compost pickup.

Officials estimate that just under 10% of Acton households have this kind of contract. The majority use Black Earth, according to the company’s internal metrics. 

Without a town program, most Concordians pay at least $16 for a “starter kit” and $16.99 per month for weekly pickup, per the Black Earth website. 

Students pushing the Town Meeting proposal cite programs in other communities, including Bedford, where people can get pickups for $14.99 each month.

Bedford works with Black Earth to run its program. Subscribers get a $20 annual utility rebate, plus a free starter kit. “We’ve kind of seen it work right next door,” Benson told The Bridge. 

Advocates say grants could support a Acton municipal program. 

Black Earth CEO Conor Miller described a “huge New England waste problem” as landfills run out of room. Composting can be part of the solution, he told The Bridge. 

‘Unfunded mandate’

But Public Works Director Alan Cathcart warned the student petition could deliver an “unfunded mandate.”

A municipal composting push would require staff time. The current budget provides no staffing increase, Cathcart told the Public Works Commission last month. 

Weber of the PWC told The Bridge that he grew up using compost piles and subscribes to Black Earth. 

He’s still concerned about a municipal program’s cost, and he’s not sure town involvement would significantly boost uptake. 

Students recognize that CPW “has many ongoing projects,” Benson told the Climate Action Committee.

A “preferred vendor contract” would require less staff time than other options, students say, and could cut current curbside pickup costs by 10%, according to Concordian Shelly Karlin, who has been helping the students. 

By that metric, the $16.99 monthly Black Earth rate would fall to $15.29. 

Climate Action Committee Chair Brad Dye said he thinks this measure is “good and appropriate.” He also emphasized that “we don’t want to put a strain” on public works staff.

“It will take time,” he told The Bridge. 

The question is Article 42 on the Town Meeting warrant. Town Meeting starts April 27.