The New Bedford food scrap pickup program opened for enrollment in September 2026, and the first curbside collection is set for Friday, September 25. The City of New Bedford and the Greater New Bedford Regional Refuse Management District are partnering with Black Earth Compost, a private composting company (New Bedford Guide, September 11, 2026). Signing up costs money, and residents who skip it keep their regular trash and recycling day.

Context photo: Cobblestone street and the brick Corson building in downtown New Bedford, Massachusetts. Lee Wright, 2013-07-26. CC BY 2.0 · Source. Resized for web.

What the program is

Households that enroll get food scraps collected at the curb and turned into compost instead of buried, which the announcement ties to reducing household trash and preserving capacity at the Crapo Hill Landfill (New Bedford Guide, September 11, 2026). Collection is weekly, on Fridays.

The first 100 New Bedford residents who enroll get a free starter kit funded by the refuse district: a 13-gallon wheeled curbside cart with a roll of BPI-certified compostable liners, a 2-gallon Sure-Close countertop bin, a six-month supply of compostable kitchen bin liners, and a one-cubic-foot bag of Black Earth Compost potting soil. Participating households also get a voucher each spring, good for a one-cubic-foot bag of finished compost at participating garden centers (Waste Advantage Magazine, September 15, 2026). The sources say the kit is for the first 100 residents and do not say what happens to sign-ups after that.

Who runs it, and who to call

The city and the refuse district are the named partners, but the hauler is private. The district’s own page calls Black Earth Compost “a Massachusetts-based commercial composting company” (GNBRRMD). Service and billing questions go to Black Earth Compost at (978) 290-4610, option 1. The district takes questions at (508) 979-1493, by text at (774) 503-0254, or at marissa@gnbrrmdistrict.org. For the city’s other food waste diversion options, the Department of Facilities & Fleet Management is at (508) 979-1520 or trashandrecycling@newbedford-ma.gov, and the city points residents to newbedfordrecycling.org (New Bedford Guide, September 11, 2026). Jennifer Vieira, the city’s Director of Facilities & Fleet Management, framed it as giving households “greater flexibility” to pick a food waste method that fits.

Cost and sign-up

Weekly collection runs $21.99 a month, or $119.99 for six months. Every-other-week collection runs $17.99 a month, or $94.99 for six months. The local announcement and the district’s program page list the same prices (New Bedford Guide, September 11, 2026; GNBRRMD). The district also says the program uses tiered pricing, and that “the fees go down as more customers register.”

Residents pre-register at blackearthcompost.com/composting-in/new-bedford by entering their address. One caveat from the district page: “A minimum number of residents must participate to start the program.” The citywide launch date is set, but service on a given street can still depend on enough neighbors signing up, so treat your own start date as unconfirmed until the hauler confirms it.

What goes in the cart

The district lists fruits and vegetables, coffee grounds and filters, eggshells, meat and seafood including lobster shells, pasta, grains and bread, nut and coconut shells, food-soiled napkins and paper towels, and certified compostable tableware (GNBRRMD). Produce stickers, packaging and plastic bags are not accepted, so peel the sticker off the banana before it goes in (New Bedford Guide, September 11, 2026).

What this is not

This is not a change to New Bedford’s regular city trash or recycling collection. Nothing in the announcement or the district’s page says the existing curbside service is changing, and residents who do not enroll see no change to their pickup day or their bins. The compost cart is an extra, paid subscription from a private hauler, not a new city-issued container, and the monthly fee buys the food scrap collection only.