Let's Celebrate Compost!

For Healthier Soil, Healthier Food…Compost!

Get ready to celebrate International Compost Awareness Week! Mark your calendars: May 7-13, 2023 will be a week of promoting awareness and celebrating compost.

This year’s theme focuses on the role of compost in helping to end world hunger.

Recycling organics into compost reduces waste and improves soil health. Applying compost to farmlands reduces the need for artificial fertilizer and pesticides, improves water retention, and provides crops with nutrients to ensure healthy growth.

Not only does compost help decrease food shortages, composting can also:

Reduce the Effects of Climate Change
When organics are sent to landfills they produce methane, a major contributor to climate change. Composting dramatically reduces the amount of methane produced.

End Landfills
Food waste is the single most common material landfilled, making up 24% of the total municipal waste sent to landfill in the U.S.. Landfills take up valuable space and pollute nearby communities. To reduce landfill space and emissions we should compost instead!

Eliminate Wasteful Packaging
Replacing harmful plastic packaging with compostable packaging means that it can be composted after it is used.

Elevate Packaging is a proud sponsor of International Compost Awareness Week!

How to Celebrate Compost Awareness Week

Start Composting

It doesn’t take much to start composting at home. If you have the space you can start your own home compost bin. If you can’t compost at home don’t worry, access to composting is expanding. Sign up for a collection service in your area, or search for nearby community composters.

Share Your Composting Achievements

Post to social media about the progress of your backyard compost pile, or compost collection service. Use hashtags #ICAW2023 #forhealthiersoilhealthierfood and tag @icawusa (instagram) or @InternationalCompostAwarenessWeek (facebook) to spread the word!

Create social media posts about your compostable packaging and tell your audience the reasons why you choose compostable!

Have fun! Share composting tips, and even interesting (or weird!) items in your compost pile. Engage your audience by asking them questions: Do they compost? How did they start composting? What would they like to know about the benefits of composting?

Get Kids Excited About Composting

The Compost Research and Education Foundation has put together resources for teaching kids about composting.

Younger kids might enjoy creating their own DIY mini composter experiment. You could design and print your own compostable stickers to promote compost awareness, or bake some “Compost Cookies”.

Composting Events and Workshops

Check if your local composter, community garden, or if any businesses are hosting an event or workshop for Compost Awareness week.

Organize your own activities and workshops! Apps such as Nextdoor are a good way to connect with neighbors. You can invite neighbors to composting events, invite them to contribute to your compost pile, or start your own community composting initiative.

Become a Compost Awareness Week Volunteer Coordinator

Prefer to keep it online? Why not start a social media Compost Challenge to help raise awareness!

Take a look at the Official Compost Awareness Week Website for a list of events as well as even more ideas and resources for celebrating. Have plans to host an event? Add it to their website!