2025 -- H 6300

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2025

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H O U S E   R E S O L U T I O N

PROCLAIMING THE FIRST FULL WEEK OF MAY, 2025, TO BE "COMPOSTING

AWARENESS WEEK" IN THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

     Introduced By: Representatives Cortvriend, Shekarchi, Blazejewski, Chippendale,
Boylan, Speakman, McGaw, Carson, Donovan, and Bennett

     Date Introduced: May 06, 2025

     Referred To: House read and passed

     WHEREAS, Each year, Composting Awareness Week is celebrated nationwide during

the first full week of May with the goal of raising public awareness of the environmental benefits

of composting; and

     WHEREAS, Compost is a mixture made up of organic materials such as yard trimmings,

vegetable and fruit peels and scraps, other food scraps, flowers, eggshells, paper products,

nutshells, sawdust, wood chips, biosolids, manure, hay shavings, and leaves, which are rich in

moisture and nutrients, and when added to the soil in gardens and farms, helps plants and crops

grow; and

     WHEREAS, By retaining and transferring moisture through the soil to the plant,

composting minimizes the need for irrigation, reduces water usage by up to 30 percent, conserves

water during droughts, and prevents flooding by retaining water that would otherwise enter drains

and sewers; and

     WHEREAS, Rich in both nutrients and organisms, compost is beneficial for plant health

and growth, as well as worms, centipedes, spiders, beetles, and fungal mycelium, which results in

minimizing the need for chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and reduces soil and water pollution;

and

     WHEREAS, Composting reduces waste by reusing and recycling organic materials,

which make up approximately 30 percent of all materials sent to landfills, and can help

communities that implement composting programs to efficiently divert waste from landfills and

become more sustainable; and

     WHEREAS, The beneficial organisms and microbes in compost also sequester and retain

carbon in the soil, and help to prevent carbon dioxide, methane, and other greenhouse gases,

which would otherwise be released into the atmosphere in large amounts due to decomposing

waste in landfills; and

     WHEREAS, By using compost in certain public works projects, such as the construction

and improvement of parks, trails, highways, and green spaces, composting can lead to large-scale

reductions in pollution, help to prevent climate change, and lead to the creation of green jobs;

now, therefore be it

     RESOLVED, That this House of Representatives of the State of Rhode Island hereby

proclaims the first full week of May to be "Composting Awareness Week" and respectfully urges

the Governor and the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management to observe the

week with appropriate activities and programs. We moreover encourage all Rhode Islanders to

start composting and help build a healthier environment for all; and be it further

     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to

transmit duly certified copies of this resolution to the Honorable Daniel McKee, Governor of the

State of Rhode Island, and Terrence Gray, Director of the Rhode Island Department of

Environmental Management.

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