Composting can reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Here’s how Mass. can become a leader. – The Boston Globe

Composting is a process that takes biodegradable materials such as discarded food scraps and garden waste and recycles them back into usable soil. Compost is capable of “reducing greenhouse gas emissions at landfills” and “promoting uptake of carbon dioxide by vegetation,” according to the US Composting Council.

Massachusetts has been a pioneer in sustainable waste management for decades. The state secured the first EPA recycling grants in 1976, which allowed the state to implement limited curbside collection programs and use the first residential recycling truck. But today, still only a handful of Massachusetts municipalities offer curbside composting. Sustainable waste management demands more than just recycling, so Massachusetts must broaden its composting efforts to continue its environmental leadership.

There is strong evidence that such policies would have a real impact. In the 1970s, when the recycling of paper products, glass, aluminum, and plastic was just becoming part of the mainstream environmental movement, the lack of practical and convenient ways to dispose of recyclable waste was the main obstacle to increasing recycling participation.

Consequently, when curbside recycling was offered, the result was dramatic: The percentage of total waste bound for landfills across the country decreased from 94 percent in 1960 to 52 percent in 2018. There is good reason to believe that the same would happen with food waste.

Yet despite the historical efficacy of curbside programs, only 5 out of the 351 cities and towns within Massachusetts currently employ city-run curbside programs for food waste. It is important that these programs are not only free and convenient but that they are implemented in all towns throughout the state.

As of right now in Massachusetts, only businesses face regulations on their disposal of food waste: They must compost instead of sending their waste to landfills if they generate more than 1 half-ton per week. While this is a commendable step, more food waste is generated by households (43 percent) than by grocery stores, restaurants, and food service companies combined (40 percent).

Why is participation in composting so limited? Cost continues to be a barrier. Alexis Schulman, a professor of environmental sciences at Drexel University, notes that free, citywide collection programs, along with a composting mandate “have absolutely seen the highest diversion” of the volume of food waste in American cities. For example, the first year of a mandatory residential composting program in Cambridge saw citywide trash cut by 8 percent. This eradicated an equivalent amount of emissions as driving 2.7 million miles.

Similarly, in July 2023, the town of Lexington launched a pilot program for curbside pickup of kitchen waste to 2,000 Lexington households at no charge. In July, the pilot program expanded to another 2,000 households. Since then, Lexington Public Schools Green Teams has reported that 2,000 of the town’s 11,000 households are composting — meaning just 200 are paying for curbside pickup. Clearly, having a free program increases participation by orders of magnitude.

For all these reasons, the state could be doing far more to move Massachusetts toward widespread composting. This could not be done overnight, as composting facilities would need to be expanded, local regulations would need to be written, and large apartment buildings might need to be adapted to accommodate waste.

But the Legislature could take several concrete steps to accelerate composting programs. It could start by offering financial incentives to municipalities to start free curbside pickup of food waste. It could write draft regulations for towns that include mandatory pilot programs. And it could expand educational programs to inform residents about the benefits of composting.

Composting has been proven to work across the world — San Francisco, Seattle, and Sweden are just a few examples of composting success. Massachusetts should be next to implement this vital service on a large scale. It will reduce the state’s carbon footprint. It will empower residents by giving them a way to personally contribute to mitigating climate change. And communities located near landfill sites will experience greater quality of life because of the decreased volume of waste entering the landfills.

The grass is always greener on the other side, but with today’s technology, we don’t have to wait or wish; we can make our own side green. What do we have to lose?

Sophie Shaw is a senior at Lexington High School.