Applications are now open for the 2025 ICAW International Poster Contest. The dates for 2025 are May 4 – 10. The poster contest is open to anyone from anywhere in the world age 14 or older. Apply now!
About The International Compost Awareness Week (ICAW) International Poster Contest
Opportunity Details
- Date Published: September 06, 2024
- Category: Contest
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.
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.
The poster must include the following:
International Compost Awareness Week
May 4 – 10, 2025
Sustainable Communities Begin with Compost!
Benefits of The International Compost Awareness Week (ICAW) International Poster Contest
Prize is $500 and the winning design is used as the official ICAW 2025 poster – sent to thousands of people.
The International Compost Awareness Week (ICAW) International Poster Contest Requirments
Entries will be eliminated if requirements are not followed exactly.
Please read before you enter and make sure your poster has everything it needs.
- Only One Entry Per Person
- Size is 12” wide X 18” vertical (this is in inches)
- Resolution is 300 dpi in jpg format
- Poster contains the theme name: Sustainable Communities Begin with Compost!
- Poster contains the words: International Compost Awareness Week
- Poster contains the date: May 4 – 10, 2025
- Do not add additional words to your poster. Only the theme and International Compost Awareness Week and May 4-10, 2025 are allowed. Any changes to those words or additions will automatically eliminate your entry.
- If you have a photograph as part of your poster, please confirm that either you took the photo or you have obtained legal rights to use the photo.
- Important to know before you start your design, posters cannot be an AI generated design. Any AI designed posters will be eliminated.
Official ICAW 2025 Guidelines – Please read carefully. If design entries do not follow these requirement exactly, the design will be eliminated and not entered into the contest:
- Fee: Free!
- Entries per person: Entries are limited to ONE SUBMISSION PER ARTIST.
- Submitting your entry: You must complete the online entry form application and checklist, and submit your poster online. Please include a short paragraph on why you chose to participate in the ICAW 2025 poster contest and give an explanation of your poster concept.
- The poster must include the following:
International Compost Awareness Week
May 4 – 10, 2025
Sustainable Communities Begin with Compost!
The theme does not have to be below the date. You can use your creativity but please make sure everything can be easily read from a distance. Do not add additional words or numbers to your poster. Failure to follow these instructions will disqualify your poster
- The concept and images of the poster should be based on the benefits of compost and composting food and yard waste. Compost is the focus of the contest. The judges will especially look for images that demonstrate that organic materials are a key component to healthy soils and for keeping soils and the environment healthy in the future. When creating your poster, please remember that the winning poster will be reproduced and distributed nationally. The Compost Research & Education Foundation’s logo, along with sponsor logos, will be added to the poster below the winning image. Do not add any logos to your design.
- Only ORIGINAL artwork will be considered. Please check your spelling; Any misspelled words or incorrect numbers will disqualify your poster!
- Posters that include personal or corporate information or product endorsements will be disqualified.
- Copyrighted Images/Subjects: Copyrighted, trademarked products, packaging, brand names and advertisements may not be used within the poster. Original signed release forms are required for persons, whether public or private citizens, who are photographed and appear on the poster. Release forms can be as simple as a paragraph stating “permission” from “subjects” with a printed list of names of the individuals appearing and signed by the individuals. If the subject is under 18 the release form must be signed by a parent or guardian. This rule will be strictly enforced.
- Electronic Resolution and Format: Artwork is to be submitted in electronic format with a resolution of 300 dpi and in jpg format. (Note: Poster Winner will be requested to resubmit poster at higher resolution for reproduction purposes.) Poster should measure 12” wide X 18” high and be vertical (portrait) in orientation.
- Judging and winner selection: All entries will be reviewed by the judges to get down to the top 15 between the two categories. A final vote will be made by CREF donors and volunteers and USCC members to pick the winning design.
- Grades 9 to 12
- College students and adults
The competition will be judged on the following criteria (40 points maximum):
- Marketability of poster to multiple audiences - 10 points.
- Creative and original artwork and idea - 10 points.
- Attractiveness in terms of design and neatness of layout - 10 points.
- Overall Impact, all graphics are related to the topic and make it easier to understand the poster theme - 10 points.
The overall winner will receive a $500 prize.
11. Final poster: The Compost Research & Education Foundation’s ICAW Committee reserves the right to alter the final poster design or to reject all submissions for the final poster design. All submissions become the property of the Compost Research & Education Foundation and may be used for commercial purposes. No entries will be returned.
12. Deadline: November 1, 2024, 12 midnight EST
The poster must include the following:
International Compost Awareness Week
May 4 – 10, 2025
Sustainable Communities Begin with Compost!
Application Date and Process
- Click on the link to the application website to apply.
For questions, please send an email to [email protected]
Application Deadline
01 November, 2024
Scholarship Application Portal
View details of
The International Compost Awareness Week (ICAW) International Poster Contest
Apply for The International Compost Awareness Week (ICAW) International Poster Contest
