A little after 9 a.m. on Saturday, April 18, roughly 25 tons of steaming compost was dropped on the sidewalk in front of Joan Lorentz Park at the Cambridge Public Library. The white steam rose from the roughly three-foot high compost pile as it hit the cold air, emanating a smell of freshly dug earth.
Despite the chilly weather, approximately 60 people of all ages — college students, young families and retirees were gathered around the pile with Ikea bags, garbage bins, buckets and boxes to retrieve their share. Each Cambridge household was allowed up to 20 gallons of compost, which they shoveled themselves and were tasked with weighing using an honor code rather than actual scale.
Organized by the City of Cambridge’s Department of Public Works (DPW), the event was part of this year’s Earth Day celebrations, the annual April 22 global demonstration of support for environmental protection. Now in its seventh year, the compost being given away was provided by Casella, a sustainable waste management & recycling company that serves the New England area.
“I’ve already heard from several people today saying this is the best day of the year and that’s really nice to hear,” said Michael Orr, the DPW’s recycling director.
The idea behind the event is to encourage composting and give back to the community, Orr said. In the United States, food is the most common material sent to landfills, making up almost a quarter of municipal solid waste, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. These landfills are the third-largest source of human-related methane emissions in the U.S., contributing to 14% of such emissions in 2022. In Massachusetts, food waste accounts for 20% of total waste in the state, according to the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection. And municipal composting initiatives can reduce these methane emissions and overall waste.
“This stuff sitting in a landfill would generate methane … by composting it, we’re making a huge reduction in our greenhouse gas emissions” Orr said.
Sue Wentworth, a Cambridge resident who works in ecology, came to get compost for her personal garden. She said it is important to see the city encouraging small-scale environmental action.
“We only have power and agency right where we are, with the people that we’re with. So I think it’s hugely important that we do what we can at a small scale,” Wentworth said.
The compost provided was the result of about a year of frequent “turning,” where the pile is moved around to encourage decomposition, according to Gregory Lund, a product sales specialist at Casella. The compost came mainly from leaves and grass with some food scraps from across New England. Unlike store-bought alternatives that may sit bagged for extended periods, Lund explained that the compost distributed is fresh and biologically active, which means “The microbes [within the soil] are active,” Lund said. “People are gonna be able to take this soil and put it right into the garden beds.”
It’s a point that Orr echoed as well. “Local compost is really beneficial to the environment for supporting local gardeners, local composters, and keeping things more local,” he said.
This takes on particular meaning for urban areas like Cambridge. According to Lund, compost plays a critical role in improving urban environments. By enriching soil with organic matter from food waste, compost helps support healthier plant growth while also improving the ground’s ability to absorb storm water. Healthier soil acts like a sponge, reducing runoff and easing pressure on drainage systems while storing carbon and supporting greener neighborhoods. This is vital in cities dominated by pavement and other artificial surfaces.
“Anytime you can improve the soil, especially in a city setting, there’s just unquantifiable benefits,” Lund said.
For many in attendance, the compost giveaway has become a tradition. Wentworth said it is reassuring to see so many in the community participate.
“It’s wonderful to live in a community that shares the values of respecting the created world and recognizing that we’re part of it,” she said. “You see that with the soil, the compost, you see that with the people from all over.”
Jackie Potus, a Cambridge resident who came to collect compost for the second year in a row for her flower garden, said the city’s involvement is vital.
“I think it’s wonderful, I think it’s leadership,” Potus said.
Rand Wentworth, Sue’s husband, who works in land trust conservation, echoed that sentiment, emphasizing the value of local, hands-on engagement. This was the second year he and his wife came to the giveaway.
“Here’s something that’s just wonderfully local, where we can get our hands in the dirt and [I] just love it,” he said. Wentworth shoveled the compost into buckets for his household’s collection.
But for him, composting is more than just the act itself. “This is, I think, this is a spiritual act,” Wentworth said. “We’re here watching and helping to nourish things that grow out of the earth.”
By 1 p.m., the entire pile of compost had been claimed.
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