During our first year as Northeastern’s iGEM team, we had an incredible amount of support from a variety of collaborators, both in the lab and in our community. We started from the ground up, creating a project entirely from scratch, and finding new opportunities to get involved with Boston’s thriving biotech private sector, policy focused government, and inspired education system. In addition to our involvement with Boston as a city, we have also continued a close collaboration with Northeastern University and the institution’s students.  

Food waste is a huge problem in today’s world. In 2019, about 40 million tons of food in the United States was sent to landfills. In comparison to this, only 3 million tons of food waste was composted, which was only 4.99% of all food waste created. Food waste contributes to approximately 8-10% of global greenhouse gas emissions, which increases humans’ contribution to climate change. In addition to accelerating the Earth’s warming, this waste increases vermin populations, decreases water quality, creates disgusting odors, and degrades communities who live close to landfills.  

Composting can provide a terrific solution to almost all problems created by an excess of food waste in our ever-growing world. Composting is a biodegradable method where food scraps decompose into soil, which can be used in gardens and farms. Composting reduces negative environmental impacts that are otherwise an issue in traditional waste management, as this process diverts organic matter from landfills. In addition to having a terrific impact on the environment, composting also creates productive, healthy soil that users can employ in their gardens. By reducing the amount of organic waste put into landfills, individuals can take the necessary steps towards creating a more sustainable future.  

In Boston, one of the leading cities in environmental friendliness, local policy makers push for residents to compost. In the city, there are four methods of encouraging composting. The first is providing farmers market food waste drop off sites. These sites are the Brighton Farmers Market, the Dudley Town Commons Farmers Market, and the East Boston Farmers Market. The second method is through Project Oscar, which is Boston’s 24-hour community food waste program, which has 14 drop-off locations spread through the city. The third method is providing drop off sties in community gardens; the city is currently recruiting community gardens to participate. The fourth option is to sign up for a city-wide compost pick up program. This involves signing up to receive a city-approved compost bin, putting out your compost once a week for collection, and adhering to Boston’s composting regulations. All of these options are a great way to encourage citizens to compost, but they do not target individuals who don’t want the smell of decomposing food in their living spaces, individuals who have no outdoor space to store their compost, and students whose universities do not have effective composting programs.  

Figure 1. Map of Boston’s current compost drop off sites. There is a severe lack all through Mattapan, the South End, Fenway, and in West Roxbury.