BRATTLEBORO — A growing number of residents are participating in the town-wide curbside compost program to help preserve landfill space, to reduce methane gas generated by buried organics, to save the town and taxpayers money, to contribute the raw material to produce nutrient-rich compost, to feel good about about ourselves, and to do the right thing for our community and the environment.
You might not know it, but cities all over Vermont, New England, and beyond are watching Brattleboro to judge the success of our curbside compost program and to decide if they should undertake a similar program. The results of Brattleboro's efforts will affect people far beyond our borders.
A participation rate of 33 percent or higher will demonstrate the viability and positive impact of curbside compost pick-up in a small town.
We now have more than 470 households signed up, which sounds like a lot, but they represent only 17 percent of the 2,700 households whose trash and recycling is picked up by the town. We need 900 participants - double our current number - to reach that 33-percent threshold.
Can we do so in four weeks? Yes!
It sounds daunting, but it is really quite easy. Each of the 470 participants currently signed up simply has to do one small thing: get one more person to sign up. Just one!
I know many of you have already done so. In fact, some of you have enlisted many more new participants than just one and I, the town, and the environment thank you.
On your street, in your neighborhood, among your friends, it is likely that for every household already signed up, there are four other households that are not. Talk to your neighbors, and after a few weeks of curbside composting, they will be thanking you.
It is pretty cool being “The One and Only Brattleboro,” but it will not be cool if Brattleboro remains the One and Only Town in Vermont and New England with curbside compost.
If we cannot demonstrate that the community is behind this program, we cannot justifiably say, “Follow our lead. We have shown that curbside compost pick-up works.”
To every currently participating in curbside compost, please do your part by getting at least one more household to sign up. Tell people to visit www.brattleboro.org and click on “Curbside Compost Sign Up and FAQ,” or email [email protected] with questions.
If they do not have a computer, they can call the town at 802-251-8103 or use the computers at Brooks Memorial Library.