By Adam Swift
The city council will move forward with a public hearing on an ordinance that would establish a composting program in Revere to divert food scraps and organic waste from the waste stream.
Monday night, the council’s climate, sustainability, and workforce subcommittee recommended moving forward with the public hearing on the ordinance proposed by councillors Juan Pablo Jaramillo and Angela Guarino-Sawaya.
The ordinance requests that the mayor put out a request for proposals for a vendor to run the composting program, as well as look at grants and funding opportunities for the program. The remainder of the program would be paid for through user fees in a revolving account, but Jaramillo said there would be discounts for seniors and those who are economically disadvantaged.
“The oldest trash incinerator in the country (at the WinWaste facility in Saugus) not only creates harmful emissions, but it is also dangerous ash that ends up in the unlined ash dump,” said Guarino-Sawaya. “In a very fragile ecosystem, this is part of Rumney Marsh, and anyone who cares about our environment will vote yes, and anyone who cares about the health of the residents, especially in the Point of Pines and Riverside, will vote yes.”
In the long run, Guarino-Sawaya said a composting program could save the city millions of dollars.
“Community composting can help alleviate the amount of trash that gets sent to Win(waste),” she said, adding that composting can also be beneficial for the soil.
Ward 1 Councillor Joanne McKenna said she supports the ordinance and noted that many other cities have composting programs in place.
Ward 4 Councillor and former public works director Paul Argenzio said any proposal that can divert waste from the waste stream will be beneficial for the city.
“We definitely need to start thinking outside the box and coming up with solutions to our trash and our recycling,” said Argenzio. “Revere is fortunate not to have pay-as-you-throw or trash fees, we try to support our residents as much as we can, but it is getting extremely expensive.”
Councillor-at-Large Michelle Kelley said she supports the ordinance, but said she did have some questions about the amount of waste that would be diverted through a composting program.
Cindy Luppi, the national field director for Clean Water Action, said the figure is based on the state average of organic materials and food scraps that currently go to trash fills and incinerators.
Jaramillo noted that residents would be able to opt in to the program, and that it would not be mandatory to take part.
