This one year pilot program is free to residents, and is funded through a USDA Grant in partnership with City of Avondale Estates, CompostNow, Food Well Alliance, Roots Down, and DeKalb County Super District 6.

The program is limited to the first 750 sign-ups.

Yes! Townhome, condo, and apartment dwellers can participate in this program. Once you sign up, we’ll drop off your container and notify you of your collection location outside of your building. Your container will have a name tag with your name on it in the event that multiple members in your building are participating in this program.

Please note that we reserve the right to cancel membership if we cannot find a convenient place to service your container outside of your multi-family building.

You can find the full list of accepted and not-accepted items, here. Please no plastic of any kind, including plastic bags. If you line your Food Scraps Bin, be sure to use a BPI Certified compostable bag.

Yes! Composting at a commercial or industrial scale is different than composting in your backyard.

It is true that you should not add meat, dairy, and bones to your backyard compost pile, but at an industrial facility it is possible to include these products and they will break down properly through the composting process. This is because the high, consistent temperatures reached in thermophilic composting phase which mitigates the risk of pathogens and disease.

You will receive your Curbside Food Scraps Bin along with a Countertop Food Scraps Bin, 3-gallon compostable liners, and an informational magnet. We recommend using your Countertop Food Scraps Bin in your home like you would a trash bin – just line your Countertop Bin with the compostable liners and transfer the contents (liner and all!) into your Curbside Food Scraps Bin throughout the week.

Please note that we will only service your Curbside Food Scraps Bin.

The Curbside Food Scraps Bin is a 7-gallon container (32 liters) with a latching lid and handle. The measurements are:
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• Outside Length 15.5 inches
• Outside Width 12 inches
• Outside Height 20 inches

We will also provide a Countertop Food Scraps Bin (9.0"L x 9.25"W x 10.5"H) along with 3-Gallon compostable liners to use in your home to transfer compostables to your curbside container.

It’s not required, but is strongly advised, as items may stick to the sides when tipping if the bin is not lined. Compostable liners that will fit your 7-gallon bin are available for purchase through this link. Please no plastic bags.

We provide a Countertop Food Scraps Bin with 3-gallon compostable liners along with your Curbside Food Scraps Bin. We recommend filling the lined Countertop Food Scraps Bin throughout the week, tying your liner when full, and then tossing it into your Curbside Food Scraps Bin for collection! This will also help to keep your Curbside Food Scraps Bin clean.

Reach out and let us know! You can email us at thedirt@compostnow.org or text/call us at (919) 526-0403, and we’ll drop off your compostable liners on your next service day free of charge.

The Curbside Food Scraps Bin has a latching lid that seals in odors, and the use of compostable liners help keep the bin clean. The liners also allow for easy removal of food waste on collection day, easy wipe-downs of the container for maintenance, and help prevent spills from any liquids when tied shut.

To clean the bin, rinse with water and mild soap. We provide a Countertop Food Scraps Bin with 3-gallon compostable liners along with your Curbside Food Scraps Bin. We recommend filling the lined Countertop Food Scraps Bin throughout the week, tying your liner when full, and then tossing it into your Curbside Food Scraps Bin for collection! This will also help to keep your Curbside Food Scraps Bin clean.

Please reach out to our Support Team at thedirt@compostnow.org to request a replacement bin.

No, not at this time. For this one year pilot program, there is a limit to one bin per household.

Composting is a great way to reduce the amount of waste your household send to landfills, which are the third largest source of methane emissions.

In fact, about 28% of the average household waste stream in America is compostable! By composting your food scraps you are also recycling those unused scraps into a nutrient-rich soil amendment that can be used to grow more food.

Learn more about the benefits of composting, here.

If there are holiday changes to our collection schedule, we will send an email notification in advance of the upcoming holiday about collection day changes.

CompostNow will collect and process food scraps for this program at CompostNow's Georgia Facility.