Curbside composting ‘doesn’t work’ for many Brookline residents. A new program aims to help

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The weekend is in sight. But if you’re looking for a real getaway, now’s your chance. Make a gift to WBUR by 7 p.m. Friday for our fall fundraiser and you’ll be automatically entered to win a $10,000 voucher for a trip anywhere in the world. Click here for the details.

Now to the news:

The leftovers: Brookline is launching a new food waste drop-off pilot program, aimed at getting more households to compost. Starting today, anyone who lives in the town can drop off food scraps at bins in four locations around North Brookline — free of charge.

• Why is the town doing this? Brookline already has a curbside compost pickup program (which costs $9 to $12 a week). However, Alexandra Vecchio, the town’s director of sustainability and natural resources, told WBUR’s John Bender the pickup service “doesn’t work” for many residents in North Brookline, where there are lots of apartments and multi-family homes.
• How do I participate? The bins will be locked, so residents must register to get the lock combination via an online form.
• What’s next: There’s potential to expand the program beyond the four drop-off spots. “We really do hope after a year of being able to assess it through all the seasons that we’ll have some good data to inform what the next phase of this looks like,” Vecchio said.
• Zoom out: Overall, Massachusetts has been doing a relatively good job at diverting food waste from landfills. WBUR’s Barbara Moran has more on the statewide picture here.

Putting up walls: As the powerful storm Helene sweeps through the Southeast, Boston is hosting a first-of-its-kind flood training exercise today. Dubbed “Deployables Day,” the citywide event includes demonstrations to teach people how to install protection measures, like deployable flood barriers, which are temporary walls to block floodwaters from infiltrating a building. Businesses and individuals will also be able to buy deployable barriers at the event.

• Brian Swett, the city’s chief climate officer, told WBUR’s Cici Yongshi Yu “a lot of both public and private sector owners” have already bought these barriers. “We’ve reached a critical mass where it made sense to have a demonstration day in multiple neighborhoods in our city,” Swett said.
• FYI: Massachusetts is not in Helene’s path, but the storm has led to a few dozen delays and cancellations at Logan Airport.

Teamwork makes the dream work: Students can now seamlessly transfer from Bunker Hill Community College to UMass Boston, the colleges announced this week. The new joint admissions program allows students to simultaneously apply to both schools, and Bunker Hill students who graduate with at least a 2.0 GPA are guaranteed admission into UMass Boston to pursue a four-year degree.

• Students enrolled in the program will also be able to access UMass Boston’s library, gym, athletic events and other student activities. Dr. Alicia D’Oyley, the dean of enrollment at Bunker Hill, says the program will especially benefit students who live in neighborhoods closer to UMass Boston, like Dorchester and Roxbury. “They’ll have a UMass Boston student ID card,” D’Oyley told WBUR’s Fausto Menard. “So, that might be easier for them than traveling all the way over to Bunker Hill on the Orange Line.”
• By the numbers: UMass Boston gets more transfer students than any other public university in Massachusetts: 1,500 a year. According to school officials, Bunker Hill students make up a fifth of those transfers — more than any other single institution.

On Beacon Hill: The State House is poised to enact a new law to remove restrictions on the type of dogs that can be owned by families hoping to adopt foster children. Currently, state law bars certain dog breeds — such as Rottweilers, Pit Bulls, German Shepherds, or a mutt that includes at least two of those breeds — as pets for families adopting foster children. The Senate unanimously passed a bill to remove those limits yesterday, following suit with the House.

• The new law would direct the Department of Children and Families to instead consider other factors, like a dog’s history of dangerous behavior and health records.

Heads up: The Sumner Tunnel will close tonight at 11 p.m. for the weekend. It’s the first weekend closure in over a month, as crews wrap the $160 million restoration project. It will reopen by 5 a.m. Monday.

P.S.— What local institution took a big hit in approval ratings this year? Take our Boston News Quiz to see if you know the answer.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.