Assemblymember Connolly Introduces Compost Awareness Week

SACRAMENTO, CA – On May 8^th, Assemblymember Damon Connolly (D-San Rafael) introduced Assembly Concurrent Resolution (ACR) 36, which designates the week of May 7, 2023, through May 13, 2023, as Compost Awareness Week. Composting is an effective form of waste reduction, reuse, and recycling. Since organic materials make up over 30 percent of the material going to landfills, composting is becoming one of the primary methods communities use to reach waste diversion goals and create sustainable communities. Returning organic resources—remanufactured into compost and applied to the soil—reduces water consumption by over 30 percent on all soil types, conserves water during extreme drought and flooding conditions, decreases dependence on chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and decreases erosion and nonpoint source pollution. Composting is recognized by the State Air Resources Board as an important tool to sequester massive amounts of carbon in California’s soils to help immediately reverse global warming by drawing down excess carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and storing it deep in California’s soils.

“I am proud to champion this resolution on International Compost Awareness Week (ICAW)” said Assemblymember Connolly. “ICAW is the largest and most comprehensive education initiative of the compost industry. It is celebrated nationwide and in other countries each year during the first full week of May. The goal of ICAW is to work together to raise public awareness on why we all should be composting our organics, recycling, and using compost. This year's theme is For Healthier Soil, Healthier Food…Compost!”

Communities, through their local governments, highway departments, soil conservation services, and public works professionals, can have positive impacts on clean water, soil, climate change, and landfill diversion by using compost for public works projects. International Compost Awareness Week is a multimedia publicity and educational initiative to showcase compost production and demonstrate compost use initiated and supported by compost industry organizations around the world. Composting creates green jobs and infrastructure for cities and states that implement composting programs. 

The United States Composting Council, Canada, and the United Kingdom have declared the first week of May to be the annual International Compost Awareness Week. The Association of Compost Producers is the California State Chapter of the United States Composting Council and manages International Compost Awareness Week in California. All California citizens produce organic residual feedstocks that are remanufactured into compost, from their backyards to their regional industrial scale compost production facilities, collectively producing over 10 million tons of compost and mulch each year. California intends to almost double its compost production capacity in the next five years. 

ACR 36 was passed during the Assembly Floor Session this afternoon.