Presentation at Massachusetts Green Careers Conference 2015

1. Grant Berman

2. Who Am I?Who am I?
Senior at Newton South High School
Owner of Dirty Boys Composting

3. Agenda
What is composting?
What my company does
How I got started

4. Composting:
A Natural Process
In Nature
everything
organic
eventually
breaks
down into
humus.
Composting is
when we
control that
process &
quickly convert
kitchen & yard
waste into a
nutrient-rich
soil enhancer--
“compost.”

5. Why Should We Compost?
Decreases trash hauling
costs which lowers taxes
Good for you!
Improves quality & structure of soil which helps plants grow
Saves $ on
expensive soil
fertilizer

6. Why Should We Compost?
Organic material produces toxic byproducts
that seep into our ground water & pollute
our air.
Carbon Dioxide, Methane, Nitrous Oxide
& Flourinated Gases
Greenhouse gases deplete ozone layer &
contribute to climate change.
Average
household throws
out 650 lbs of
compostable
materials every
year.
Most of these
compostable materials
are trucked to landfills or
waste treatment
facilities which costs $
and increases auto
emissions
In Landfills…
Composting removes garbage from the waste stream
Good for the environment!

7. Why Should We Compost?
Good for future generations!
Preserves the Earth
Children learn how to take care of
the environment

8. Decomposers do all the dirty work
Physical Decomposers
Earthworms, Beetles, Roundworms,
Mites, Millipedes
Composting is Easy
Chemical Decomposers
Bacteria, Mold & Fungi

9. Create Environment Where
Decomposers Thrive
Carbon + Nitrogen
Fruit & veggie scraps
Coffee grounds
Grass clippings
Garden plants
Dry leaves
Newspaper
Straw
Cardboard
3 1
Food Oxygen Water Volume
3’x 3’x 3’min

10. We help customers compost
successfully!
Deliver, install & set up compost bins
Educate customers about composting
Check up on compost bins & provide
written feedback with observations &
recommendations
Offer maintenance plans

11. How I got started
Came up with idea to capitalize on
sustainability trend
Got input from others
Got educated
Research
Composting & Business Workshops
Composting side – Green
Decade/Newton, Expert
Composters, Newton’s
Recycling Coordinator
Business side – SCORE, parents

12. How I got started
Marketing
• Village Fairs
• Farmers Markets
• Town Events
• Library Workshop
One connection led to another connection
and another and word spread and our
customer base grew!