CERO Cooperative, Inc. - BlogCERO Cooperative, Inc. - Bloghttps://www.cero.coop/blogThu, 19 Feb 2026 15:34:01 -0800http://zoho.com/sites/<![CDATA[Behind The Scenes at CERO]]>https://www.cero.coop/blog/post/a-behind-the-scenes-look-at-the-daily-operations-of-cero

         Running a worker cooperative takes time, effort, and dedication, and CERO is no exception to this rule. Since the inception of the company, our team members have worked hard to ensure the continued success of the business, as well as foster meaningful and helpful relationships with our partners. As we have grown, the team continues to work day in and day out to keep up with the increasing list of responsibilities.                                                                                                                                                                                      

         A work day at CERO starts bright and early at five in the morning when the operations team gets together to plan out the daily pickup/delivery schedule. Josefina, our Operations Manager, and the drivers communicate with each other to divide up tasks and assign routes in a way that maximizes efficiency and productivity. Fermin Guzman and William Scully are two such drivers. They not only operate their respective trucks, but the two of them also empty, clean, and organize the barrels at CERO’s pickup locations. Their daily schedules are constantly changing, so as soon as William and Fermin have their routes for the day, they get on the road and head off to their first stops. Josefina Luna, one of CERO’s original founders, is also out on the road early in the morning. Overseeing the day’s services, she is constantly driving around, checking in with clients, and ensuring that everything is running smoothly. Josefina brings an experienced and knowledgeable presence to the company’s site work.                                                                                                                

         Meanwhile, at around 8:00 AM, team members such as Deb Gesualdi and Rhina Luna begin getting online, and evaluating what needs to get done. While Deb is in charge of sales, she leaves her mornings open to respond to any urgent matters that may come up. Similarly, Rhina, who is in charge of data collection, IT, and reporting, spends the first few hours of her day fielding calls, responding to emails, and correcting any IT issues that have popped up. Around this time is also when Jill Ferreira, the team’s Development Coordinator, logs on. Her first tasks typically involve coordinating with CERO’s interns and making sure that they are all set up with the tools they need for success.

Around midday is when the morning drivers finish up their duties, and the afternoon fleet is deployed. As Fermin and William are on their way back from their routes, drivers like Antonio Araujo are just getting their day’s work started. He typically gets going around 1:30 PM and stops off at locations that prefer to be serviced later on in the day. Much like William and Fermin, Antonio focuses on cleaning the barrels, collecting organic waste, and delivering it to local farms and composting facilities. Whatever specific duties are asked of our drivers, they are always up to the task. Some days involve picking up and delivering compost/soil to community gardens and urban farms.  On other days, they might need to deliver equipment to new customers, install locks on totes to keep critters out, or do a deep cleaning at a customer site. Antonio, Fermin, William, and the rest of the operations team leave no stone unturned and make sure that all assignments are completed before their day ends.

         As the afternoon arrives, meetings become the name of the game. The CERO team is constantly communicating both among themselves and with their partners in order to make important decisions justly and democratically. Team meetings take place every Tuesday, while larger board meetings occur once a month. Multiple small meetings happen every day between members and can center around any topic from working with a potential new client, to waste reports, to sales quotes. These meeting sessions often take place remotely, with everyone connecting from wherever they might be at that moment. Whether out on the road or in front of a computer, each team member makes sure that collaboration never stops!


         In between calls and meetings, Jill and Deb often perform customer site visits to meet with the folks running their businesses to see how things are going. Doing this not only helps build the personal relationships that CERO has with our partners, but also allows the team to assess how daily pick-ups are going, and see if any improvements can be made. Deb and Jill also attend schools and universities to educate students on the importance of composting, as well as conferences and events that pertain to waste management, environmental justice, or worker co-ops in general. These trips are invaluable to CERO, as they allow the team to gauge the impact the company is having on the community, and what more can be done to further benefit the environment. 


         While this is happening, Rhina is likely working on calculating and auditing essential data that pertains to the specifics of CERO’s daily services. She keeps track of figures such as how much food waste was picked up from a site on a specific day, and how much organic waste was dropped off at the most recent farm that was visited. These numbers are critical when it comes to creating reports for customers and generating invoices. Deb’s work in sales goes hand in hand with this, which means that they both are constantly in contact over pre-sales quotes and contacting potential new clients. Deb also manages CERO’s many accounts, which takes up a lot of her time. Communicating with current and future partners is a key part of her work, as is providing support for any business managers who may have questions.                             

         

         Once the evening is upon us, the team finally winds down for the day. Josefina returns from her excursions on the road and begins looking ahead to tomorrow. She and Fermin will often discuss how the day’s services went, what went well, and how the team can work to improve. Every day brings its own unique challenges, so the operations team is always on top of anything and everything that might need to happen the next time out. William returns from his route while Josefina makes sure that all the day’s pickup data has been collected, and records it into the system. Deb runs through her final checks and puts together a plan for the next day. Rhina reviews the driving routes and provides an outline for what the upcoming ones should look like. Jill ensures that all loose ends have been tied up and that everyone will be good to go when they start to work again. Once all tasks have been completed, each member calls it a day and retires for the night before gearing up to do it all again when the sun rises.      


         It takes a lot of coordination, labor, and critical thinking to keep CERO up and running, but our team is always up for the challenge. It is thanks to them that we can continue providing quick, easy, and clean composting for our partners. While there is no ‘normal’ day at CERO, the only constant is that no matter what challenges present themselves, our team is ready and willing to face them!  

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]]>Sat, 05 Aug 2023 14:00:09 -0500<![CDATA[GOT FOOD SCRAPS? WIDESPREAD COMPOSTING SPROUTS AT NORTHEASTERN]]>https://www.cero.coop/blog/post/got-food-scraps-widespread-composting-sprouts-at-northeastern

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 portrait outside International Village. Photos by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University

“I was already familiar with the campus, and so it really is an amazing full circle,” says Gaul, a sales manager at CERO.

The company’s name stands for Cooperative Energy, Recycling, and Organics, and Gaul said the eight-person team aims to incorporate composting into all aspects of campus life.

“We want it to become second nature and a part of the campus culture,” says Gaul. She is working on plans to set up an information table where students not only learn about the benefits of composting, but see the food grown and energy saved as a result of their work.

The company isn’t new to Northeastern. CERO has picked up some of the university’s composting since 2015. But its new two-year contract is part of a recent push to expand Northeastern’s broad sustainability action plan, which has included composting bins at all four dining halls since 2010.

Jack Malone, senior director of facilities services, says CERO’s Roxbury location and local employee base gave it a leg up against other companies vying for the composting contract.

“Whenever we can take advantage of a local company, we want to do that,” says Malone.


“We want to make sure the university has good, strong competitive pricing and successful partnerships with local companies,” he says.


Josefina Luna, a Dorchester resident, helped start CERO with her neighbors nearly a decade ago. On a recent Tuesday morning she, Gaul and another CERO employee arrived outside International Village residence hall before sunrise to help pick up waste. Luna quickly eyed the material that had been disposed of in each bin, wiped the bins down after they were emptied, and replaced the compostable bag inside. 

Josefina Luna, one of CERO Cooperative founders, collects food waste outside International Village. Photo by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University

Knowing what’s acceptable for compost collection is a skill that takes practice. Anytime CERO begins collecting compost at a new location, Luna and others at CERO train the employees at that location to ensure they throw only compostable materials into the bins.


“Some places take a long time to train, some places take a short time,” says Luna, adding that Northeastern’s employees did “pretty good.”

]]>Mon, 03 May 2021 07:42:17 -0500<![CDATA[CERO COOPERATIVE CAPABILITIES STATEMENT 2020]]>https://www.cero.coop/blog/post/cero-cooperative-capabilities-statement-2020
]]>Fri, 23 Apr 2021 10:50:16 -0500<![CDATA[CERO COOPERATIVE FEATURED IN GAIA'S INTERNATIONAL ZERO WASTE CASE STUDIES]]>https://www.cero.coop/blog/post/cero-cooperative-featured-in-gaia-s-international-zero-waste-case-studies

© 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 waste diversion rate of under 25%, and according to a 2015 study by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, white households had a median wealth of $247,500, and Dominicans and U.S. blacks had a median wealth of close to zero.  CERO sought to combat that economic injustice head on by creating a diverse, bi-lingual worker co-op connected with Boston’s working class and communities of color.


As worker-owner Josefina Luna says, “We started to think[] about green economy. The media talk[ed] all the time about green economy but we didn’t see any green jobs in our community… The first idea [was to] create jobs for the community, create better social development for the minority people, for the people who didn’t have the opportunities.” When the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection enacted a ban in 2014 that prohibits over 1,700 food businesses in the state from disposing of organic material with their trash, CERO was there to provide the solution.

The beauty of CERO is that it creates local “closed loop” systems for food, so that instead of disposing of food waste in dirty landfills that people have to live next to, they ensure that food is recycled back into soil that grows nourishing food for the community. And the model is working. So far the cooperative has prevented 11,867,122 lbs of food waste from going to landfills, and saved their customers $407,570 in trash hauling expenses!

A day in the life of a CERO worker-owner starts early. At 7am, Jonny Santos pulls up to his first customer. ​Jonny is originally from the Dominican Republic and primarily speaks Spanish. Of his work with CERO, Jonny explains, “It’s been 1 year and 5 months since I’ve been with CERO and since I joined the company my life—both personally and economically— has changed. At CERO I feel important and useful."

The first stop for Santos is Mei Mei, a stylish Chinese-American restaurant that uses fresh local ingredients and is dedicated to being a good employer for the Boston community, and preventing as much food waste as possible. Mei Mei is a family business. Meaning “Little Sister,” in Chinese, it is now run by the youngest in the family, Irene Li. From the beginning, the restaurant was on a mission. “For me, I figured that if we were going to be in this tough challenging industry, it would have to be because we were trying to make a difference,” said Li. “We didn’t want to be another average restaurant. A lot of them contribute to a lot of social problems. Can we instead use restaurants as an engine for change?” 

In order to live up to those values, Mei Mei serves farm-to-table food at a reasonable cost, provides employee education and empowerment trainings, and thanks to their partnership with CERO, they are doubling-down on food waste. “When I got my first restaurant job I was pretty horrified by what I saw on a more commercial scale– recycling wasn’t happening, composting definitely wasn’t happening.” So at Mei Mei they make sure to repurpose food scraps (kale stems too tough for salad become a pesto or a perogi filling), donate what they can’t use, provide free or cheap food to employees through a wholesale program, and then whatever is left over goes into CERO’s compost bin.

Mei Mei and CERO’s partnership represents a perfect food loop– Mei Mei sources some of its produce directly from the very same local farms that use compost from its food waste. CERO makes sure that all those onion peels, carrot tops and apple cores that Mei Mei puts in the bin don’t go to waste, but turn into a rich compost to help grow the next crop of local fresh food that land on Mei Mei customers’ plates. Mei Mei’s partnership with CERO not only helps grow a local food economy, but it’s helped them keep their costs down. “Not only is that good from a financial perspective, helps us show that you can buy ingredients selectively and still have manageable costs,” says Li. Not only does it make sense financially, it just feels right. It makes Mei Mei a place where people are proud to work,” says Li. “The world makes it very hard to live in alignment with our values, so if we can offer that in any small number of ways to our team that’s providing them some kind of harmony in their lives.”

After picking up food scraps at Mei Mei it’s time to head to Green City Growers. Founded in 2008, Green City Growers is an edible landscaping and urban farming company converting unused spaces to places where food is grown, revitalizing city landscapes and inspiring self-sufficiency. They install gardens in people’s homes, at restaurants, corporate offices, and grocery stores, and other–sometimes unexpected–urban spaces, like the top of Fenway Park! The company was founded by Jessie Banhazl.

Banhazl wasn’t always an urban farming extraordinaire– before she founded Green City Growers she worked in reality TV, working behind-the-scenes of shows like “Wife Swap”, “Throwdown with Bobby Flay”, and “The Hills.” But Banhazl wanted a more meaningful career, and she realized that to have a sustainable and resilient cities, they need to, quite literally, go green. As Banhazl puts it, “[Green City Growers] creat[es] opportunities to see food growing in spaces where there wasn’t. It’s proven that it’s important for human beings to be around nature, and cities have moved away from that as a priority. We want to get that back into how cities are developed and built.” Green City Growers has a goal to create a regenerative, local food system throughout the country, and their partnership with CERO is an essential part of that system. Not only does CERO collect plant waste from over 100 Green City Growers locations, it also delivers the compost made from that waste for Green City Growers to enrich their soil with. Through its partnership with CERO, GCG has been able to compost 50,000 pounds of plant waste per year.

Green City Growers has a bit of an unusual service model. Banhazl calls it “edible landscaping.” GCG takes care of the maintenance, and their clients get to use the fruit of that labor however they like, whether for their cafeteria, restaurant, or corporate donations. Banhazl estimates that 5,000 pounds of produce a year is donated to food banks. They also provide education programs for both students and seniors, exposing city dwellers of all walks of life to the joys of growing your own food. As Banhazl states, “The intention [of Green City Growers] is to build a business model around sustainable and regenerative agriculture.” They want to change the business culture in the region, so that sustainability “is a priority for how business takes place.”

Next stop is the Daily Table, a non-for-profit grocery store aimed to provide affordable food options to underserved communities in Boston. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. wastes 30-40% of its food supply, and 31% of that food waste comes from retailers and consumers, who cumulatively waste a whopping 133 billion pounds of food per year (as of most recent data from 2010). 

This wastefulness is all the more shocking when paired with the fact that The Daily Table is out to solve the problem of food waste and food insecurity in the Boston area in one elegant solution– collect donated food from growers, manufacturers and retailers, and offer them at discounted prices to lower income communities. However, Daily Table is sometimes not able to distribute all the fresh food before it goes bad. That’s where CERO comes in. CERO collects the leftover food and composts it so that nothing goes to waste.

Waste-conscious businesses like Mei Mei, Green City Growers, and Daily Table show the promise of local, sustainable food systems rooted in social justice and equity. CERO’s role is to connect these efforts together in a loop that prevents waste while creating green jobs, healthy soil, and more vibrant communities. As the city of Boston unveils its Zero Waste Plan– to get the city to 80 percent diversion by 2035 and 90 percent diversion by 2050 from recycling and composting– organizations like CERO are the key not only to reaching these ambitious goals, but transforming Boston into a place where its workers and all its residents can thrive.
]]>Fri, 23 Apr 2021 10:33:00 -0500<![CDATA[CERO COMPOSTING AT DEMOCRACY BREWING: A CONVERSATION WITH FOUNDER AND WORKER-OWNER JAMES RASZA]]>https://www.cero.coop/blog/post/cero-composting-at-democracy-brewing-a-conversation-with-founder-and-worker-owner-james-rasza
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 their daily work. When a business incorporates as a cooperative, its workers also agree to uphold values related to cooperation, mutual aid, and community care. Worker-owned cooperatives strive to support one another in order to build up the cooperative ecosystem in a region, enabling more workers to democratically control their workplaces and participate in profit sharing.

Democracy Brewing is one of the Boston-based, worker-owned cooperatives that, like CERO, has decided that worker-ownership and composting are very important, and thus CERO helped to institute a composting program at the brewery and restaurant since it opened. James Rasza and Jason Taggart founded the brewery in 2018, with the goals of making great beer and empowering the Boston community economically. The Democracy Brewing team passionately believes that ownership should be attainable to all workers. Democracy Brewing strives “to re-create the traditional public house, brew the best beer in Boston, pair it with tasty food, and serve it to you in combination with two great American ideals: democracy, and owning your own business.” CERO had the opportunity to sit down recently with James Rasza, co-founder and worker-owner at Democracy Brewing to discuss the impact of composting with CERO on Democracy Brewing’s operations.


In your own words, what does your business do? 
Democracy Brewing makes great beer and pairs it with tasty food in our large beer hall in downtown Boston. We have beers to go, live music and lots of fundraisers for community organizations.

How does your business generate most of its organic waste? How many pounds of waste per week? 
The brewery is where we generate most of our waste. We generate about 3000 lbs of recyclable organic material per week. Most of this organic material comes from spent grain or malt. We process this grain and malt to get the sugars out and ferment it to make beer. That’s where the majority of our waste comes from.

What were you doing with this organic matter before CERO?
We have always been composting with CERO.

How did you hear about CERO?
Not sure - somewhere in the worker co-op world. Democracy Brewing is also a worker-owned cooperative, meaning that workers have the opportunity to own part of the business and share in the profits the business generates. Worker-owned cooperatives also typically operate with a value system based in cooperation and community care that diverges from traditional business.

How has working with CERO impacted your operations?
We put the barrels out. CERO picks them up and cleans them out. We receive them fresh and ready to go for another day. Then we do it all again. It is simple.

Have there been challenges with working with CERO? 
No. When challenges arise -- like our street is blocked off, for example -- CERO is always willing to work with us to make pick-up happen. Sometimes this means getting creative. They are always willing to partner with us when unexpected things come up.

What do you think would be valuable for other breweries to know about composting?
Composting is an important way that breweries and restaurants can offset their impact on the environment.

Will you give a one-sentence review of CERO’s service?
Working with CERO has been fantastically easy. They are professional and always willing to be flexible and work with us when any inconveniences pop up. It feels great to work with a company that, like us, aims to be true to their mission and accomplish great things for the community.
]]>Tue, 20 Apr 2021 11:24:39 -0500<![CDATA[HOW-TO: COMPOSTING AT HOME IN THE TIME OF COVID-19]]>https://www.cero.coop/blog/post/how-to-composting-at-home-in-the-time-of-covid-191
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 state parks or community gardens. As we use this time to re-establish our connection to the Earth, there is still a nagging question: How can we be more self-sustaining with limited open businesses while under a stay-at-home advisory? How can we nurture the plot of earth that we live on, and that sustains us? 

Creating your own compost from your food scraps is not only a good way to save money and increase self-reliance, but it also is sustainable and Earth-friendly. Composting removes food waste from the landfill waste stream, returns nutrients to the soil and helps remove greenhouse gases from our atmosphere. 

While there are several residential composting programs that pick up food waste (animal by-products included) from your doorstep, you might be wary about a company coming to your house weekly or bi-weekly because of COVID-19 or you simply don’t want to pay a monthly fee. There is always the option to create your own compost pile at home, even if you are short on space. 

Raised metal compost tumblers are the best method to effortlessly compost at home (if you have space and the budget) because they also speed up the decomposition timeline. Note: I live in an urban area and have had pests chew through my plastic compost tumbler within two weeks from set up (although I did break the cardinal rule against adding meat). I have an aunt who lives in the same city and she has had a metal compost tumbler for over 10 years with no issues. **If you are not using a residential composting program that goes to an industrial composting site, I do not recommend putting animal by-products in your at-home compost, even a metal tumbler, unless you want to host pests.**

6 STEPS TO COMPOSTING IN A RAISED COMPOST TUMBLER 

  1. You can purchase a compost tumbler online or at your local garden or big-box store. There is also a handy video of how you can build your compost tumbler for free. Once you have it, place the compost tumbler in a sunny location so that it heats up during the day to speed up the decomposition process. Be sure that when you begin to add material to your compost tumbler, you’ve placed it in its permanent location. It is hard to move once it is full!
  2. To begin, place a scoop of healthy soil, compost or compost accelerator/activator into your tumbler. 
  3. Place 15–30% of carbon-based material (leaves, brown paper bags, yard waste) into the tumbler and 70–85% of nitrogen-based material (coffee grounds, eggshells, food waste;      exclude animal and animal by-product waste).
  4. Fill until only 75% of the way full.
  5. Spin compost tumbler every five to seven days to increase airflow.
  6. After four to eight weeks, you should have a finished compost product ready to use in your garden.

Note: Consider the number of people in your household and how much food waste you create. You should take this into consideration when purchasing your container or making your tumbler, thinking about how many gallons the container should be and whether it should have one or two chambers. A two-chamber compost tumbler will allow you to continue adding food waste even when a pile may be close to finishing its decomposition process, so you will always have a space to recycle your food waste. 

SHORT ON SPACE? TRY VERMICOMPOSTING: COMPOSTING IN A BUCKET WITH WORMS.

  1. Get a 20-gallon non-transparent plastic rectangular bin with a lid. These are sold at your local hardware store or a big-box store.
  2. Drill evenly-spaced holes with a regular drill bit in the bottom and sides of the bin, usually      about 1 hole per gallon works well, so 20 holes for a 20-gallon bin. Be careful to not put too many holes (which will expose the worms and food waste to too much air) or too few holes (which will suffocate the worms and not allow for aeration of the pile)
  3. Find a strategic place to host your compost pile in a shady area that will not get too much water or sun. Be aware that in an apartment building placing the bin on a balcony may violate fire codes, so find a good location so you will not have to move it once it’s established
  4. Shred non-glossy paper (like used brown paper shopping bags, cardboard egg cartons or newspaper) as bedding for your worms. Lightly dampen this bedding and maintain its dampness
  5. Add a small scoop of healthy soil and a scoop of food scraps and let sit for two weeks so microbes that the worms use as food can populate their new home. Lightly water occasionally.
  6. The best worms for your compost bin are red worms, Eisenia fetida. You can find them at your local garden store or bait shop or you can order them online. They should procreate in their new home, so no need to repopulate. These worms are best because they are epigeic, meaning they remain on the top layer of the soil and use the materials there for their food. If you use earthworms, which are anecic (deep burrowing), they will die. 
  7. Add food to your bin! Focus mostly on adding vegetables, fruit, tea bags, coffee grounds, eggshells. Limit citrus, starches (bread, rice, etc.), spicy peppers, onions, oily food and sugary food. Do not add fats, meat, animal by-products, animal food, animal waste or human waste. When you add food, add a little bit of the aforementioned shredded paper and spray with water if needed. Observe how long it takes for a little food to decompose so you can be sure to not add too much water or food. You don’t want to drown or overwhelm your newly created ecosystem.
  8. Harvest your compost! In about eight weeks you will be able to use the compost for your garden. To harvest, get another container and a plastic bag with holes cut in it. Stretch the plastic bag over the new container and dump the original container onto the plastic bag and new container. The worms should try to go through the plastic bag holes to remain in darkness, leaving you to sort through your new compost. Replace the worms in the original bin and start the process over again.
  9. Warning: If you overfeed your bin or if you feed it foods you are not supposed to, then you will notice a proliferation of bugs and bad smells. If you develop fruit flies, place a glass of water with white vinegar and dish soap or fruit fly strips close to your bin. 
  10. Enjoy your flourishing garden with family and friends!



With these tips, you can empower yourself by creating compost soil amendments, reducing food waste traveling to landfills, contributing to a healthier environment and helping you create the best garden, edible backyard or balcony that you can.
This story appeared in the Summer 2020 issue of Edible Boston. 

]]>Tue, 20 Apr 2021 11:22:31 -0500<![CDATA[COMPOSTING IN THE COVID-19 ERA]]>https://www.cero.coop/blog/post/composting-in-the-covid-19-era1

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 nutrient-rich compost. When applied to the land, compost replenishes depleted soil and serves as a carbon sponge, sucking up and safely sequestering carbon pollution.
​
So why think about this now? Don't we have enough to worry about?
The coronavirus pandemic has awakened many to our vulnerability as human beings. It makes us think more about how to be safe and how to protect ourselves and one another. With less travel and use of fossil fuels to power commercial buildings the cleaner air is strikingly observable. As we begin to come back out and define the new normal, we have a chance to do things differently. 

Composting at home - Since we are cooking at home more we are generating more food scraps. And since we are home we have more time to learn how to compost in the backyard or get set up with one of many companies offering affordable home pickup subscriptions. Many cities and towns are establishing compostable materials drop off sites.

Composting for business - Trash is getting more and more expensive and composting is affordable. Composting is also the right thing to do. When any company starts thinking about reducing waste, the first place to start is with composting. Once groceries, cafeterias and restaurants start to separate and divert organic waste, they see a significant reduction in the amount of trash. The cost savings can easily offset the expense for professional composting services.

We are all eager to get back to business. What better time, as we thoughtfully reopen the economy, to do it in the best, most sustainable way? There are many free resources available to help any business get started composting. If your business is in eastern Mass, CERO Cooperative is the trusted local partner that can make it easy to start recycling food waste.

]]>Tue, 20 Apr 2021 11:21:52 -0500<![CDATA[FOOD WASTE RECYCLING AT A LARGE-SCALE FOOD MANUFACTURER: A CONVERSATION WITH ARROW FARMS DISILVA FRUIT]]>https://www.cero.coop/blog/post/food-waste-recycling-at-a-large-scale-food-manufacturer-a-conversation-with-arrow-farms-disilva-frui1

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 waste from landfills and re-earthing nutrient-rich organic material. CERO recently sat down with Nelly Czajkowski, of DiSilva Fruit, to discuss composting at a large-scale food enterprise.

Nelly serves as the Organic Sales Manager and Quality Assurance Coordinator at DiSilva Fruit in Chelsea, MA. DiSilva Fruit sells organic and conventional fruit on the wholesale market and also re-packages fruit for customers throughout the Northeast. DiSilva is the largest citrus distributor and re-packer in New England. Nelly connected with CERO shortly after the Mass Waste Ban went into effect in 2014. “When the waste ban came out, we thought it was going to be more work,” Nelly said, “But it’s actually not. With the composting set-up from CERO, we don’t really have to reach out. It just goes.” 

Large-scale food enterprises like DiSilva Fruit contribute substantially to the accessibility of fresh produce in Massachusetts, and as a byproduct, also produce organic waste. The Massachusetts Food Waste Ban focuses on such enterprises with a goal of diverting at least 35% of the state’s food waste from incineration and landfill disposal over ten years, resulting in more than 350,000 tons of annual waste diversion. In addition to food processors like DiSilva, many food manufacturers, universities, corporate cafeterias, and breweries are affected by the policy. Fortunately, as the state’s priority for composting has become clear, infrastructure continues to scale around it to support food enterprises looking to make this sustainable transition. CERO Co-operative has played a substantial role, with others, in building this infrastructure in the Greater Boston area. 

A worker-owned cooperative, CERO began servicing organic waste generators in 2014, as the Food Waste Ban went into effect. From experience, CERO recognizes the needs of food enterprises in various industries and works to create a composting plan that suits the needs of each client. Nelly describes CERO’s impact on DiSilva’s operations as “a positive improvement.” She says, “I think that the customer service has been key to us and to the growth of our composting program because CERO has always been very responsive and very flexible in working with us.”

CERO prides itself on providing a clean, convenient service that is responsive to our customers’ evolving needs. We work out of 64-gallon toters, which our team picks up and returns to our customers’ sites clean and lined with biobags. The waste from CERO’s customers is re-earthed at local farms that produce food for the Greater Boston community and beyond. Nelly describes how CERO’s program can help a large-scale fruit and vegetable processor: “CERO provides those big green toters. We really like these because they’re mobile and small enough that we can wheel them around the facility to where we need them. As a result, this helps keep the facility very clean.” 

Large-scale food enterprises like DiSilva are also reaping economic benefits from composting. Businesses in Massachusetts pay some of the highest fees for commercial trash hauling in the nation and composting typically decreases trash volume by 30% to 60%. Moreover, some businesses are able to decrease their purchasing costs by implementing composting. Nelly says of cost savings, “CERO is equivalent to our cost to throw away trash. Our goal was to be able to comply with the Waste Ban, but to have the costs stay on-par with our trash removal costs. Working with the toters and having to clean less, it is possible that we’ve come out a little bit ahead because of the labor cost of cleaning.” Indeed many of CERO’s customers see between 5% and 20% cost savings on waste hauling after implementing composting.

As the 2010-2020 Solid Waste Master Plan -- out of which came the Waste Ban -- draws to a close, CERO anticipates that the organic waste recycling industry in Massachusetts will continue to grow rapidly. As of 2015, it is estimated that only 10% of Massachusetts food waste was being diverted from disposal, meaning that there are still many large-scale food enterprises that stand to benefit from food waste recycling. To see whether your business is affected by the Waste Ban and to receive a free quote, waste assessment, or cost savings analysis for food waste recycling services, please visit CERO’s website. We are confident that large-scale food enterprises like DiSilva Fruit will continue to implement transformational composting programs, building on citizens’ increasingly urgent call for a transition to a regenerative, equitable economy.

]]>Tue, 20 Apr 2021 11:18:25 -0500<![CDATA[PRESS RELEASE - FINANCIAL RESTRUCTURING]]>https://www.cero.coop/blog/post/press-release-financial-restructuring1

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), the Local Enterprise Assistance Fund (LEAF) and other individual investors. 

This funding will enable CERO to continue to expand its business and serve the greater Boston community over the coming years. CERO thanks its existing and new investors for their unwavering support, as well as its most valued customers whom CERO has been privileged to continue serving through the current COVID-19 pandemic.

The Worker-Owners at CERO are eternally grateful to all who have stood with us and worked collaboratively in a process that took almost a year to complete. 

We extend special thanks and appreciation to our pro bono legal advisors -- Andrew Glantz and the entire team at Ropes & Gray, including Max Silverstein, Ellen Wheeler, Jack Murray, Jacob Sikora, Pam Glazier, Isabelle Farrar and Sara Clevering, for your patient, persistent commitment to getting this done.  We extend a similar thank you to our pro bono financial advisors, Amine Benali and Chris Hunter at LEAF Technical Assistance, for your longstanding partnership, outstanding  technical support and valuable advice.  We also appreciate Carl Valenstein and the entire Morgan Lewis team for providing pro bono legal services to the Boston Impact Initiative Fund and the Ujima Fund in connection with these transactions.

In addition we want to expressly acknowledge certain individuals who share and support our vision -- Dorian Gregory and Maggie Cohn at CFNE, Mark Watson and Pablo Limon at the Boston Impact Initiative Fund, Lucas Turner-Owens and Nia Evans at the Ujima Fund, Josh Glickenhaus and Connor McFarland at LEAF, Elizabeth Killough at Untours, Brendan Martin, Clark Arrington and Ghislain Guiebo at The Working World, Austin Williams at the City of Boston, and individual investors including Libby Cohn, Jude Glaubman, Maria Jobin-Leads, Susan Patz, Kate Poole and Lisa Russell (among others).

More about CERO:

CERO (Cooperative Energy, Recycling, and Organics) is an award-winning commercial composting company based out of Dorchester, MA. CERO provides food waste pickup and diversion services for a wide range of commercial clients in the metro Boston area, and transports compostables to local farms where they are recycled into rich soil products used to support the local agricultural economy. Our mission is simple: keep food waste out of landfills, save money for our clients, and provide good green jobs for Boston’s hard working communities.
CERO was brought to life by a passionate group of black and brown women and men from Boston neighborhoods who believe the way to a more equitable and healthy society must be through a worker-owned solidarity economy. We wish to acknowledge our founders including Josefina Luna, Timothy Hall, Steven Evans, Guadalupe Gonzalez and Evelin Fuentes. Their vision for a better world will always be the light guiding CERO.

More about our investors and advisors:
​
The Cooperative Fund of New England (CFNE) is a community development loan fund that has been facilitating socially responsible investing in cooperatives and worker-owned businesses in New England and adjacent communities in New York since 1975. 

“CFNE’s participation in the restructuring fits with our commitment to partnering with cooperatives led by black, brown, immigrant, and low-income entrepreneurs, building wealth in communities historically exploited by financial institutions. CERO makes sense - worker-owned, cooperative energy, recycling and organics - good for people, good for the planet. CFNE is proud to be a founding supporter of CERO.”

                                                                                                                   - Dorian Gregory, Deputy Director 

The Boston Impact Initiative Fund is focused on economic justice, which means we invest in opportunity for all people—especially those most oppressed or abandoned by our current economic system—to lead a dignified and productive life. We invest integrated capital (equity, debt and grants) in regenerative local enterprises that restore the productive capacity of communities of color in Eastern Massachusetts.
The Ujima Fund is managed by Boston Ujima Project, a fiscally sponsored project of the Center for Economic Democracy. Ujima is a Swahili word and the celebrated Kwanzaa principle for “collective work and responsibility.” Boston Ujima Project is building a multi-stakeholder structure that deploys the political and financial capital of Boston’s working class neighborhoods to invest in, purchase from, and advocate for local people-of-color owned firms that build community wealth and create good jobs. The opening of the Ujima Fund in December 2018 marked the launch of the first democratically governed capital fund in the U.S.
Local Enterprise Assistance Fund (LEAF) is a nonprofit community development financial institution (CDFI) that promotes human and economic development by supporting the growth of cooperatives and social enterprises. Based in Boston, LEAF's loan fund provides financing for co-ops nationally. LEAF's technical assistance program offers consulting and capital advisory services to women- and minority-owned enterprises and mission-aligned businesses, such as CERO.

“CERO sits at the intersection of economic inclusion, social equity, and environmental justice. LEAF Technical Assistance is honored to have been part of CERO's journey and is committed to supporting the Green New Deal companies and initiatives of tomorrow.”

                                                                                                                   - Amine Benali, Managing Director

Ropes & Gray is a preeminent global law firm with approximately 1,400 lawyers and legal professionals serving clients in major centers of business, finance, technology and government. The firm has offices in New York, Boston, Washington, D.C., Chicago, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, London, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Tokyo and Seoul and has consistently been recognized for its leading practices in many areas, including business restructuring, private equity, M&A, finance, asset management, real estate, tax, antitrust, life sciences, health care, intellectual property, litigation and enforcement, and data. Honored with the prestigious Chambers & Partners “Pro Bono Firm of the Year” award, in 2019, Ropes & Gray attorneys and support team members dedicated 172,000 pro bono hours – or 112 hours per average attorney – to pressing humanitarian crises and social challenges at the local, regional, national, and global level.

“CERO’s mission to build stronger and more sustainable communities, while proving the efficacy of a business model that values diversity and local community empowerment, is directly aligned with Ropes & Gray’s core values and our pro bono practice.  We are proud to have worked with CERO and its inspiring leadership through this pivotal period.”

                                                                                                                - Andrew Glantz, Associate Attorney

Morgan Lewis is recognized for exceptional client service, legal innovation, and commitment to its communities. Our global depth reaches across North America, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East with the collaboration of more than 2,200 lawyers and specialists who provide elite legal services across industry sectors for multinational corporations to startups around the world.  Morgan Lewis is committed to serving the public good. Each year, our award-winning pro bono practice provides more than 1,800 pro bono clients with the highest possible level of service. In fiscal year 2019, 100% of our eligible lawyers met our 20-hour Pro Bono Challenge, contributing more than 132,000 hours to pro bono representations.

Cumsky & Levin represented The Cooperative Fund of New England in connection with these transactions.
]]>Tue, 20 Apr 2021 11:05:52 -0500<![CDATA[COMPOSTING IN THE TIME OF COVID-19]]>https://www.cero.coop/blog/post/composting-in-the-time-of-covid-191

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 community we are creating is full of information, encouragement, resources and we wanted to do our part to share the compost-friendly cleaning practices we are doing during this time with all of you.


One way everyone can take action during this time is through extra hygiene and cleanliness in the workplace. Sanitation and cleanliness has always been at the center of CERO’s operation when collecting organic material. Now more than ever, it is crucial to pay extra attention to the details. Our truck drivers who pick up organic waste around the Boston area are taking all necessary precautions to keep themselves safe while doing a thorough sanitation of each tote that is picked up. Since our beginnings, we have always made sure cleanliness was a top priority for our composting clients so, after each pickup, the totes would be returned sparkling clean. Now, we are adding even more sanitation measures to ensure that all surfaces are free of unwanted bacteria. As seen in the recent picture taken below, masks, and protective gear are being worn and an anti-virus cleaner is being used to spray each tote after food is brought to local farms for composting. 

CERO Worker Sanitizing CERO Totes
Along with essential workers taking extra precautions to keep sanitation a top priority, we know people at home are also looking to find the best practices to keep themselves safe. While there are a lot of resources available online for information, here is a list of five home cleaning practices, along with products that can be used to disinfect different areas in the home that are also safe for composting. We believe knowledge combined with action is the true ingredient for transformative change, especially in a time like this.

5 HOME CLEANING PRACTICES THAT ARE SAFE FOR HOME COMPOST: 
  1. Regularly clean high touch surfaces around your home such as tabletops, doorknobs, light switches, handrails, toilets, etc. 
  2. If a surface is dirty, first clean with soap and water and use any of the following disinfectants to further clean area:
    1. Biodegradable soap and water 
    2. Hydrogen Peroxide
    3. Isopropyl Alcohol (allow to sit on the area for 30 seconds)
  3. Remember to clean and disinfect your car! Areas such as the steering wheel, seatbelts, and car handles are high-risk areas so make sure to wipe your car down when you can. 
  4. Wash your hands regularly for 30 seconds or more and don’t touch your face or mouth. 
  5. Remember to disinfect the mailbox area! 

For more information, we have listed some helpful articles below: 
6 All-Natural Cleaning Products You Can Make At Home
Cleaning and Hygiene Tips to Keep COVID out of Home 

SELF CARE TIPS TO KEEP SPIRITS LIFTED DURING THIS HEAVY TIME:  

  1. Staying virtually connected to family, friends, colleagues, and other support systems can bring fulfillment and a feeling of unity. 
  2. Avoid burnout and overwork at home. Take periodic breaks from the screen to stretch, have some coffee or tea, or anything else that serves as a refreshing treat! 
  3. Meditation, relaxation, and conscious breath-work serve as anecdotes to high levels of stress, fear and anxiety.
  4. Explore the myriad of online content being created, who knows, you might discover something new!

For more information on self-care activities: we have listed some helpful articles below: For more information on self-care activities: we have listed some helpful articles below: 
Self-care for Social Workers 
Take Care of Yourself During Pandemic
Protect Mental Health During COVID 19
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