Composting Initiatives

Leon County Introduces Two New Composting Initiatives!

What weighs as much as a refrigerator and gets thrown away every year? Your food waste! In Leon County, an estimated 30,000 tons of food get sent to the landfill every year, which averages out to 200 pounds of food for every citizen. The good news? Leon County is launching two new composting initiatives to help citizens, businesses, and organizations divert food scraps from the landfill and turn trash into treasure. 

Composting is the natural process of recycling organic matter into a useful fertilizer. Everything that grows will eventually decompose, and composting speeds up the process by providing an ideal environment for decomposition. The resulting decomposed material, which looks a lot like soil, is called compost; it is rich in nutrients and can be used to supplement garden soil.  

In March 2021, Leon County launched two new composting opportunities to help provide citizens, businesses, and organizations with more opportunities to compost: 

New Pilot Compost Drop-Off Site:

Leon County’s new pilot compost drop-off site at the Solid Waste Facility (7550 Apalachee Pkwy) opened on March 18, 2021, and residents can now bring their food scraps to drop off into the compost bins (located next to the mulch pick-up area). 

Acceptable food scrap items include:

• Fruit and vegetable scraps
• Expired produce
• Egg shells
• Paper napkins
• Coffee grounds 

The compost bins cannot accept:

• Meat or bones
• Dairy
• Food cooked in oil
• Pasta and grains
• Coffee cups
• Bioplastics

Initially, the County plans to use the compost at County facilities but plans to offer it to community gardens or other organizations in the future. If this pilot project is successful, the County will look at other opportunities to expand the drop-off program to other facilities in the county. In addition to dropping off compost, residents can drop off other items accepted at the Solid Waste Facility, including garbage (for unincorporated residents only), recycling, household hazardous waste, and electronics. The Solid Waste Facility is open Monday-Saturday from 8am-5pm.  

Compost Bin Sale:

Are you interested in composting at your home or work? You're in luck! In March 2021, Leon County launched a pilot program to offer a compost bin giveaway and sale for interested residents, businesses, and organizations. Interest was so high that the initial batch of bins sold out in an hour! With the success of this program and the positive feedback from the community, Leon County is making this a permanent program to offer Earth Machine backyard compost bins and counter-top kitchen compost collection bins for a wholesale price of $38 (a $60 savings from retail!) for all residents, organizations, and businesses. If you're interested in getting a bin but cost is a barrier, email sustainability@LeonCountyFL.gov.

If you're interested in purchasing a bin, please fill out the interest form below, and the Office of Sustainability team will let you know when bins are available for sale and pick-up.

Compost Bin Interest Form

Composting at home, at work, or your faith-based organization is easier than you think! Interested, but not sure how to compost? Leon County and the UF/IFAS Extension Office have plenty of resources available to help you out. 

Questions about composting? Call 850-606-5000 or email sustainability@leoncountyfl.gov

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Resources:

• Composting 101 session from the 2021 Leon County Sustainable Community Summit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDJ_qysEgK8&list=PL-XnkdieqbaQ1XfMEG8pVp1MlTFSecAzB&index=4
• How to compost at home (video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0BGr-947ck
• UF/IFAS: https://sfyl.ifas.ufl.edu/sarasota/natural-resources/waste-reduction/composting/