New Bedford and Dartmouth Residents Can Start Composting and Save
UPDATE: As of April 12, 2021, the Greater New Bedford Regional Refuse Management District is sold out of all compost bins. An announcement will be made when compost bins are available again, the district said.
Compost bins now offered to New Bedford and Dartmouth residents at a discount.
Food waste makes up approximately 20 percent of the waste that residents generate in their homes. Composting food waste saves space in your trash bags and the landfill while providing nutrient-rich material for gardening.
The Greater New Bedford Regional Refuse Management District now offers two types of compost bins for sale to New Bedford and Dartmouth residents. The Earth Machine and the New Age Composter are available at the discounted rate of $25 each, including tax (Editor's Note: the bins are all sold out as of April 12).
Starting on Monday, April 12, the first 10 residents from New Bedford and the first 10 residents from Dartmouth who purchase a compost bin will receive a free stainless steel kitchen counter bin to collect compostable material.
Marissa Perez-Dormitzer is the Waste Reduction Manager at Greater New Bedford Regional Refuse Management District. She knows first-hand how composting makes taking out the trash easy.
“Even with a large family, our trash is light since we compost all our banana peels, apple cores, and eggshells,” Perez-Dormitzer said. “Once you start composting, it becomes a part of everyday life. And we’re now adding the compost to our garden beds as we prepare for spring planting.”
Benefits of composting include:
- Materials such as fruit and vegetable scraps, coffee grounds and coffee filters, eggshells, tea bags, leaves, grass, twigs in a compost bin turn into free compost (that you do not have to buy in a plastic bag).
- Returns nutrients to the soil to grow nutritious food, and healthy plants, flowers, and shrubs.
- Reduces greenhouse gases such as methane.
- Reduces trash and reduces plastic bag use. Material that was going in your trash now becomes nutrient-rich soil amendment.
- Saves space in the local landfill, about 20 percent of what is disposed of is food waste.
To purchase a compost bin, go to the scale house at the Crapo Hill Landfill located at 300 Samuel Barnet Blvd. in New Bedford. The scale house is open Monday through Friday from 7:15 a.m. to 3 p.m. and on Saturdays from 8 to 11 a.m. Cash or check only. Mask and proof of residency required.
Click HERE to find out which compost bin is best for you.