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Article by Hilary Chabot, originally appearing in News@Northeastern Maya Gaul’s fond memories of Northeastern’s Boston campus stretch all the way back to childhood. She recalls playing tennis at Carter Field, grabbing snacks at the Curry Student Center, and meeting up with her mother who worked at the nearby Carter School. Now Gaul is happy to be back on the 67-acre campus in another role, working with a neighborhood-focused composting company recently tasked with expanding Northeastern’s earth-friendly food waste program. Maya Gaul, sales team leader at CERO Cooperative, poses for a p ..read more

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© Astudillo/Survival Media Agency/Zero Waste/U.S. Originally written and published by Global Alliance For Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA) The word “cero” in spanish means “zero,” and that’s the focus of this composting cooperative in Boston: moving the city towards zero food waste, and building stronger, more equitable communities in the process. The seeds of CERO were first planted at a meeting where local community members gathered to discuss how to improve recycling rates and create good jobs for marginalized communities. At the time Boston had an abysmal recycling and wa ..read more

A cornerstone of CERO’s identity, besides closing the food loop by recycling food waste at local farms, is our status as a worker-owned cooperative business. Worker-owned cooperatives differ from traditional businesses in that they are owned by the people who work at them, rather than by one or a few wealthy individuals or many shareholders. CERO believes that worker-owned cooperatives are an important part of building greater equity in our economic system. In this model, workers are able to share in any profits a company generates, as well as democratize the decision-making that impacts th ..read more

During this unprecedented time, stay-at-home orders and social distancing have increased the demand for more healthy and self-reliant measures in our homes. These include reducing trips to the store or for takeout food (and waiting in long lines!) in favor of making home-cooked meals and growing gardens.  We’re also spending as much time as possible out in nature, since that’s one non-tech form of entertainment we have left to enjoy. People are reconnecting with the outdoors, whether by growing a backyard garden, tending window boxes or spending time in shared green spaces like s ..read more

THE ADVANTAGES OF COMPOSTING IN OUR NEW NORMAL Organic materials, mostly food waste, make up at least 30% of the trash Americans throw away. When sent to landfills and incinerators, this material breaks down and emits toxic methane, one of the most deadly greenhouse gases. A far better alternative destination for this material is processing facilities.  ​ Composting is the best way to recycle food waste that will not be eaten by people or animals. It is a process for mixing food waste and other organic materials such as leaves and grass clippings to break down the material and create n ..read more

The US economy is set to change drastically as dialogue and activism around climate justice and the ecological health of our planet enter the mainstream. Massachusetts has already begun important transitional work in multiple ways, notably through its Commercial Food Waste Disposal Ban. The Food Waste Ban, issued in 2014, initially required large-scale food enterprises that produce more than one ton of food waste per week to recycle this waste. It has since been expanded to affect businesses producing one half-ton or more per week. The policy helps our planet and communities by diverting wa ..read more

Josefina Luna, Maya Gaul, Lor Holmes CERO Cooperative, Inc. (CERO), a Massachusetts worker-owned cooperative corporation, has completed a consensual balance-sheet restructuring with its lenders involving a debt-for-equity swap and other loan modifications.  As a result, CERO has reduced indebtedness by approximately $430,000 and significantly streamlined its capital structure. In connection with the restructuring, CERO also raised approximately $365,000 in new money financing from the Boston Impact Initiative Fund, the Ujima Fund, the Cooperative Fund of New England (CFNE), t ..read more

Composting is an essential service!  We are on the front lines collecting organic waste throughout the city of Boston and its surrounding areas. With the spread of this new COVID19 virus, different branches of society have collectively been working together from afar to support different members of the community. Through the lens of solidarity, we are inspired to see this happening in Boston. While this pandemic has caused us to retreat into our homes in order to help stop the spread, in a way, it has brought to light the importance of community and connection. The virtual co ..read more