WESTWOOD—Nicholas “Nico” Doell isn’t doing the Eagle Scout thing halfway.
When the Westwood Regional High School junior earned his Life rank last spring, he started looking for a project that would be more than ceremonial — something vital, overlooked, and likely, with community buy-in, to leave a measurable mark on borough life.
That search didn’t fully click, he said, until a conversation with Mayor Ray Arroyo, who floated an idea Westwood hasn’t tried in this form before: community composting.
“I wanted an Eagle Scout Project that would leave a lasting, measurable impact on Westwood while also challenging me technically,” Doell said. “I have always been interested in engineering and hands-on innovation, and I was looking for a project that combined problem-solving with real community benefit.”
From there, Doell worked with Councilwoman Erin Collins and Borough Administrator Durene Ayer to turn the concept into a pilot program — one designed to be easy for families and scalable for the borough if it succeeds.
The initiative will begin as a 50-family pilot program. Participating households will collect food scraps and compostable materials at home and bring them to a drop-off shed located at the Department of Public Works.
Doell said the system is meant to solve the everyday obstacles that stop people from composting — especially in small yards or busy households.
“This unique system of composting which I am introducing eliminates many of the challenges of backyard composting, including odors, animals, and limited space,” he said.
Accepted items include fruits and vegetables, coffee grounds, eggshells, bread and grains, napkins, tea bags, and BPI-certified compostableware (including compostable bags, utensils and cups). Items not accepted include diseased plants, yard trimmings, glass and metals.
Once deposited, the material will be collected on a regular schedule by Neighborhood Compost, the organics hauling service partnering with the project.
That compost then goes back into circulation — enriching agricultural soil and returning nutrients to the ecosystem, rather than becoming landfill waste.
Doell said composting stood out to him because food scraps make up a significant share of everyday trash — and because what happens to food waste in landfills isn’t just “out of sight, out of mind.”
Citing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, he noted that roughly 24% of what Americans throw away is food scraps. Diverting that waste, he said, reduces landfill tonnage, can lower disposal costs, and can cut methane emissions.
The most visible piece of the project is the compost collection site itself — and it’s already in place.
A major component of Doell’s Eagle Scout work was the design and construction of the compost collection shed and supporting infrastructure at DPW. With help from his troop, family and friends — and the DPW crew — he built a 9-by-13-foot concrete foundation, reinforced with rebar and gravel.
Then he did something one doesn’t see every day in a Scout project: he designed and ran an electrical schematic from the DPW building to the shed to power motion-sensor lighting for safe nighttime access.
After the shed was placed, Doell led volunteers in painting the interior base to withstand heavy foot traffic, hand-building a wooden ramp so bins can be rolled in and out, and installing a stone paver path beneath the ramp to prevent erosion.
Doell is with BSA Troop 350. His Scoutmaster is Bernadette Gerhinger, and he credited his father, Keith Doell — an assistant Scoutmaster — as a steady source of “tools, wisdom, or advice.”
Doell is an 11th grader at Westwood Regional High School, where he said he’s on high academic honors and is taking five AP courses. He’s also an active member of the school’s Environmental Club and serves as a student representative on Westwood’s Board of Health.
To fully fund the project, Doell said the goal is a little over $7,000, covering the shed, electrical work, concrete and foundation materials, compost bins, signage, and durability improvements designed to keep the site functional for years.
He’s already raised “a little less than half,” he said — through presentations to local groups including the Westwood Library Gardens Club and the Westwood Women’s Club, and through community fundraisers such as a refreshment sale at Dragons Day, a plant sale at Westwood Fest, and a bake sale at St. Andrew’s.
His main fundraiser now is the Eagle Scout Founders Bronze Plaque — a permanent display mounted on the front of the shed recognizing the families, businesses and organizations that helped launch Westwood’s first community composting initiative.
Doell’s flyer captures his pitch in a few bold words: “Zero Waste. Protect the World.”
With a minimum donation of $185, a donor’s name will be permanently etched in bronze on the founders plaque.
Right now, it’s a pilot. But Doell built it with growth in mind: “Success would mean the pilot operating smoothly and demonstrating that community composting is both practical and beneficial for Westwood,” he tells Pascack Press.
While it begins with 50 families, he said he designed the program so it can expand year by year. “My goal and real hope for the future is that one day my project will expand to touch hundreds and grow to become a permanent municipal service, similar to recycling or garbage pickup,” Doell said.
To get involved: Residents interested in the pilot program may contact Jean-Marie Vadovic at jvadovic@westwoodnj.gov, or directly to Doell at nicovdoell@gmail.com.