Skip to main content

How to Participate in International Compost Week

2023 International Compost Awareness Week (ICAW) is May 7 through 13, with the theme, “For Healthier Soil … Healthier Food, Compost!” The nonprofit Illinois Food Scrap & Composting Coalition (IFSCC), advancing diversion and composting of all organics in the state, is the largest and most comprehensive education initiative of the global compost community.

ICAW programming combines in-person and hands-on experiences with virtual discussions and presentations to reach diverse and widespread audiences at all stages of life and composting experience. The 2023 lineup includes a day of Adventures in Composting with farmers, gardeners and backyard composters around the state; a virtual International Cafe at which composting stories from around the world will be shared; a virtual Legislative Lunch and Learn; and multiple opportunities throughout the week to attend library programs and obtain finished compost.

Co-facilitator Kate Caldwell has a master’s degree in environmental biology and has been composting since the 1990s. As an interpretative naturalist with the Will County Forest Preserve for more than 20 years, she has made many zero waste presentations focused on ecological footprint, plastic and composting. Now retired, Caldwell is active in IFSCC and says, “Watch out world, I’m crazy.”

Co-facilitator Merleanne Rampale is a longtime champion of the many benefits of composting and compost use. She gives presentations and workshops on food waste reduction, diversion, recycling and composting, and works with schools, municipalities and other organizations in her role at a Chicagoland Solid Waste Management agency.

For a complete schedule and registration, visit IllinoisComposts.org.