MELROSE — Kate Sikkema, a senior at Melrose High School and member of BSA Troop 635, recently embarked on a plan to bring awareness about Food Waste Composting to Melrose.
For her Eagle Scout project, she led the production of a public service announcement video on the benefits of composting food waste and how to get started. With contributions from fellow scouts, friends, Melrose DPW, Zero Waste Melrose, MMTV, and Mayor Brodeur, the video answers common questions such as what can be composted and how to compost efficiently.
Food Waste composting is a very simple process and the video walks people through why we should do it and demonstrates how easy it is to accomplish. Early on in the project, Kate conducted a food waste separation trial for people who had never composted. They were shocked at how much of their current trash was food waste (20-25 percent), and just as shocked at how easy it was to get used to separating it from their trash. Whether composting at home or through a commercial service, composting food waste reduces the amount of trash headed to the incinerator, reduces greenhouse gases and adds nutrients back to our soil.
The video and many other helpful links can be found on the city’s composting webpage: https://www.cityofmelrose.org/trash-recycling/pages/composting-information.
Kate asks that you please take a minute to view the video, pass it along to friends by word of mouth, email, and through social media, and consider trying to compost your food waste. All it takes is a start!
