Food waste comprises 30 to 35% of all household waste. Rhode Island Resource Recovery estimates 70,000 tons of food waste go to the landfill every year. And it’s your tax dollars that pay those increasingly higher tipping fees at a central landfill that is quickly reaching capacity.
We are about 5 months into Bristol’s new curbside food scrap collection pilot program. This partnership between the Eastern Rhode Island Conservation District (ERICD), the Town of Bristol, and Black Earth Compost is supported by 11th Hour Racing’s grant program.

This two-year program, running from September 2025 to September 2027, offers 500 eligible Bristol residents significant savings on weekly compost collection. Participants will receive a free curbside bin starter kit, 66% off in the first year, and 33% off in the second year of weekly collection service. They'll also get clear instructions on how to compost in the program, a free cubic foot bag of finished compost each spring, and an online account to manage their service.

Composting is a powerful way to reduce waste, diverting a significant percentage of trash from landfills. Black Earth mixes these food scraps with leaves and sticks and transforms them into a nutrient-rich compost, enriching soil for local farms, community gardens, and even your own backyard.

Black Earth Compost accepts a wide range of materials, including meat, bones, dairy, and food-soiled paper products (like napkins and certified compostable serviceware) - items typically not suitable for backyard composting. Their motto is: "If it grows, it goes in the green bin!" A comprehensive list of accepted materials is available on their website at blackearthcompost.com.

“Composting of food waste is important to reduce the amount of waste that would otherwise go to the landfill,” said Diane Williamson, Director of Community Development, at the outset of the plan. “We hope that residents will take advantage of this great opportunity to sign up for the food composting service at a reduced rate for the 2 years and then continue on with the service.”

“It has been going really well,” said Stella Piasecki, the Compost Program Coordinator for the Eastern RI Conservation District. “We are about 5 months in and are about halfway to the goal of enrolling 500 households. So we have plenty of spots still available.”

According to Piasecki, since the program started, Black Earth has collected 2,570 bins from across Bristol, and they have reported very little contamination — so people are are doing it correctly.

“Black Earth has been weighing what they pick up, and so we're getting some data on how much tonnage we're actually diverting from the landfill,” said Piasecki. “Based on the number they've reported, Bristol has diverted just under 12 tons of food waste from the landfill since September 18th, which is quite a bit.

“With that number and the $63 a ton that the town pays for municipal trash tipping fees, we’ve estimated that the municipality has saved $750 so far. Obviously that's not a huge number, but that will only go up as more people sign up for the program and as time goes on and there's just more getting composted.”

A survey sent out to participants has shown that 98% of respondents said that it's important to them to see their town government continue to support a municipal composting program after the pilot has ended. “So people are really liking the program. They're learning from the program. They want to keep composting and keep the town involved in that,” said Piasecki.

High Street resident Jessalyn Jarest is very satisfied with the composting program.

“We are taking our trash out less, it doesn’t smell, and the kitchen is tidier.”

Jarest keeps a small, closed bin on countertop, with a compostable liner, while others report keep scraps in a container in the refrigerator. Every day or every other, she takes the compost outside to her Black Earth bin, which is sealed and critter-proof.

Jarest hopes more people will jump onboard and we can ultimately expand the program.

“There’s less waste, less tipping fees.,” she said. “That is a huge savings for the town, so if I can do my small part, it’s a win.”

To sign up for the program, please complete the Sign Up form directly on the Black Earth Compost website: https://blackearthcompost.com/bristol. The program offers weekly collection of food scraps at a significantly discounted rate. Once 500 households are enrolled, the price of service for all participants will be reduced even further.