What is International Compost Awareness Week and what is the 2027 theme?

International Compost Awareness Week (ICAW) is an annual awareness week promoted by the Compost Council of Canada (compost.org). For 2027 it runs May 2 – 8, 2027, and the announced global theme is "All Paths Lead to Compost!" (French: Tous les chemins mènent au Compost !). The Council provides downloadable theme materials in English and French, and the week is open to anyone — individuals, community groups, schools, municipalities, and compost professionals — who wants to promote composting and compost use.

Key facts at a glance

What the 2027 theme means

"All Paths Lead to Compost!" frames composting as a destination that many different routes can reach — whether you're a household diverting food scraps, a municipality running an organics program, a farm improving soil, or a business managing organic residuals. The theme is a communications hook: it lets organizers tie their local activities back to a single global message.

How to get the theme materials

The Council's announcement page offers two downloads:

• English (PDF) — the global theme announcement for ICAW 2027
• Français (PDF) — Télécharger (Français PDF), the French version

These are the official assets to use when promoting your own ICAW activities, so your messaging matches the announced global theme.

How to participate

The page evidence confirms the week, theme, and downloadable materials, but does not list a formal registration process for ICAW itself. In practice, participation is self-organized around the announced dates and theme. For example, you could:

• Download the theme PDF in your preferred language and use it in your own communications.
• Plan an activity during May 2 – 8, 2027 — a compost giveaway, a school lesson, a community workshop, or a social media campaign — and label it with the 2027 theme.
• Contact the Council at [email protected] if you need clarification or want to check whether your activity can be listed or supported.

Where ICAW fits within the Council's other programs

The same site promotes the Compost Facility Operator Training Course (a one-week course of five 3.5-hour sessions, with an optional operator's exam) and the Compost Quality Alliance. ICAW is the public-facing awareness event, while the training course and certification exam are the professional-development track. If your goal is operator certification rather than awareness-week participation, the training course is the relevant program.

Common questions

Is ICAW only for Canada? The theme is described as the "Global Theme for International Compost Awareness Week," and the Council announces it in both English and French, so the messaging is intended for an international audience even though the announcing body is Canadian.

Do I need to register to take part? The page evidence does not describe an ICAW registration requirement. It provides the dates, theme, and downloadable materials; any listing or coordination would need to be confirmed with the Council at [email protected].

What if I only want the French materials? Use the Télécharger (Français PDF) link on the announcement page.