ICAW Poster Contest
The ICAW Poster and Bookmark Contests run every year from September 1 – November 1. If you are interested in entering these contests, please check back during the summer of 2025 to learn about the new theme for ICAW 2026 and the contest requirements.
The ICAW 2025 Poster Contest will start on September 1, 2024. The deadline to apply is November 1, 2024. The winning poster design will be announced in early December. Please read the poster contest requirements before entering the contest. Anyone age 14 and older can enter. This is an international contest. The entry form will be available on this page starting September 1st.
2025 Winning Poster
Each year, the International Compost Awareness Week Committee holds a poster contest to pick a design for the annual poster. There is always a new theme for ICAW, which is highlighted on the poster as well as that year’s dates. ICAW is always held the first full week of May. The dates for 2025 are May 4 – 10. The poster contest is open to anyone from anywhere in the world age 14 or older. The prize for winning the contest is $500.
Sustainable Communities Begin with Compost! is the ICAW theme for 2025. This theme was chosen with the goal of highlighting composting in all kinds of communities at any scale – from backyard home composter, to community composters, to large-scale facilities to all those who recognize the many benefits of using compost on our soils. As has been done for the past several years, the theme was chosen by all of the international partners who are part of the International Compost Alliance – making it truly an international theme. This year’s theme was inspired by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal #11 “Sustainable Cities and Communities: Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.”
From navigating skyscrapers to the far-reaching fields of corn or forested acres of rural America, composting is an essential element in developing a sustainable resources management plan for any community. Composting empowers communities to manage their own waste, create job opportunities and support healthy soils with locally-made compost. The theme highlights that when we're repurposing the food that would go into the landfill, we're creating fresh nutrients for the soil, which regenerates the earth and provides healthier food for everyone in the community. Composting is an action everyone can participate in, no matter the size of your home, garden, or community! Together, through the power of compost, we can create a more sustainable future for our communities!
Some benefits from organic recycling and compost use:
- Composting reduces methane emissions through aerobic managed decomposition providing for a more sustainable community.
- Composting lowers greenhouse gasses by improving carbon sequestration in the soil. Getting the carbon back into the soil serves as a “carbon bank,” helping to store carbon thereby removing it from the atmosphere.
- Compost provides essential nutrients for plants, promoting vibrant gardens and farms. Healthier soil leads to healthier, more nutritious food for our communities.
- Compost use increases the water-holding capacity of our soils; important as our communities are more and more often seeing drought and or intense rain events causing soil runoff and erosion.
- Community Gardens and Green Spaces: Compost plays a vital role in community gardens, fostering green spaces that provide fresh produce, recreational opportunities, and community gathering places.
Meet the ICAW 2025 Poster Contest Winner
This year’s winner of the ICAW 2025 Poster Contest is Abbie Sawyer from Athens, Georgia. Out of hundreds and hundreds of entries from around the world (entries were received from 73 different countries), her entry was chosen.
Abbie is an artist, nature enthusiast, and Compost Education Specialist for the Athens-Clarke County Solid Waste Department.
As Abbie explained, her poster design was carved out of linoleum, hand-printed, and digitized to add color and text. The top of the poster shows off the skyline of Athens, Georgia, with the green roof of City Hall visible in the top left corner.
When asked what ICAW and this year’s theme mean to her, here is what she said, “Communities rely on organic recycling on all scales. Whether you compost garden scraps in a three-bin system or generate tons of compost in an industrial facility, you make a difference! It's time for us to embrace decay and rot on.”
The ICAW Committee would like to thank everyone who entered the contest and worked hard to support ICAW and the message in this year’s theme: Sustainable Communities Begin with Compost!
Here are the 14 top entries
For questions, please send an email to icaw@compostfoundation.org