International Compost Awareness Week (ICAW) is the largest and most comprehensive education initiative of the compost industry. It is celebrated each year in the first full week of May.

For details on this year’s poster contest, click HERE

ICAW is a multi-media publicity and education event that showcases composting and compost products. It features composting in your back yard or at large scale commercial composting facilities.

For the past 13 years ICAW has grown in both strength and numbers of celebrants through its sponsors and compost advocates. Compost Awareness Week serves the important role of bringing the Compost! message to the attention of the public, businesses and other groups. Communities and government agencies, as well as members of the composting industry, utilize the week to promote their specific Compost! message and programs.

“ICAW is the longest running community based awareness campaign about compost in the World. I always look forward to the new poster in the new year and how we can link everyday life to good social and sustainable habits that nature teaches us with composting. As a charter member of ICAW, our slogan at Filtrexx is let nature do it. This of course, includes composting. ”
Rod Tyler
CEO
Filtrexx International LLC

To bring positive attention to the possibilities that composting can provide to communities, ICAW was designed to rally composting advocates and build awareness in every community. Compost discussions, State ICAW Proclamations, promotions with local dealers and landscape supply stores, informal lectures by well-known gardening experts, backyard composting bin promotions and urban gardening programs are examples of how municipalities and public and private groups can be involved.

“ICAW is part of our overall compost education program in Kansas. We do not have any organic materials banned from our landfills so we use education as a means of increasing recycling and composting. ICAW has been a part of what I use to educate our community leaders so they have a way of reaching out to their citizens to encourage organic diversion from the landfills into composting. We have increased from 2 compost facilities in 1993 to over 140 currently with diversion going from around 100 tons in 1993 to almost 184,000 tons last year. Education works and ICAW is an integral part of that process here in Kansas.”
Ken Powell
Environmental Scientist
Kansas Department of Health & Environment
Topeka, KS

Browse the Compost Week menu for tools and ideas to help YOU celebrate International Compost Awareness Week!

Please see this year’s sponsors of International Compost Awareness Week.