Your Chicago Composting Guide: New city compost service turns wasted food into black gold
Turning a negative into a positive — that’s the power of composting. Food waste in the United States is an epic problem (more on that later). The city’s new food scrap drop-off program diverts wasted food from the landfill and returns it to nature.
Composting food waste in Chicago just got a whole lot easier! Chicago now has 20 sites across the city where residents can drop off household food scraps for composting — for free. As of May 2024, nearly 5,000 households have already signed up to participate.
Do you have questions? We have answers! Here’s everything you need to know about the city’s new program. Plus: why composting is so important for reducing our environmental impact and how to cut down on your food waste.
What is composting?
The EPA calls composting “nature’s way of recycling.” When you recycle your old banana peels, moldy bread, and leftover brussels sprouts, you enable these organic materials to naturally decompose into a nutrient-rich, soil-like material called compost. Composting is a controlled process that uses oxygen, so it can’t happen to food that’s been buried in a landfill.
Why compost?
Composting has big environmental benefits:
Diverts waste otherwise headed for the landfill — The broccoli you scrape into the trash eventually makes its way to a landfill, where it joins *a lot* of other wasted food. Illinois landfills 19 million tons of waste each year; 20% of that is food waste, which makes food Illinois’s largest waste stream.
Reduces methane emissions — Due to the lack of oxygen, food that decomposes in the landfill produces methane, a harmful greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change. Food waste is to blame for 58% of landfill emissions.
Decreases greenhouse gas — Did you know that the top three feet of soil contains more than 3X as much carbon as the atmosphere? That’s one reason why erosion is problematic — it releases carbon into the air. Using compost increases soil carbon sequestration, which controls the amount of greenhouse gas released into the atmosphere.
Creates nutrient-rich soil — Plants LOVE compost. So do farmers. Dark in color and dense with nutrients, compost, also known as “black gold,” has superpower-like abilities to improve soil quality. Compost works like a natural fertilizer and encourages plant growth by controlling pH levels, providing protection against soil-borne diseases, and helping soil retain moisture. According to the Illinois Food Scrap & Composting Coalition, for every 1% of organic matter, compost increases water storage capacity by 16,000 gallons per acre-foot — preventing evaporation and runoff.
How big of a problem is food waste?
It’s a huge problem, unfortunately. One-third of the food produced in the United States is never eaten. Let that sink in. Calorie-wise, that’s enough food to feed more than 150 million people each year.
Everyone can play a role in preventing food waste by purchasing, preparing, and consuming food more mindfully. Composting is another key part of the solution.
Count me in for composting! Where do I sign up?
Here’s the sign-up form! Registrations help the city track usage and provide updates about the program.
Where do I take my food waste?
Find the drop-off location closest to your home on the map below:
Food Scrap Drop-Off Locations*
What food scraps can I bring to the drop-off site?
You can drop off all food waste, cooked and raw, including:
Fruits and vegetables
Meat and fish
Bones, eggshells, nuts, shellfish
Bread and grains
Dairy (cheese and yogurt)
Coffee grounds and tea leaves (remove filters)
Is there anything I can’t drop off?
Items that are not acceptable include:
Bags of any kind, including "compostable" bags.
Foodware or packaging
Paper (napkins, coffee filters, tea bags, etc)
Cardboard (boxes, pizza boxes, etc)
Liquids
Pet waste
Rubber bands, produce stickers, twist ties
Remember: Remove all produce stickers from fruits and vegetables before you add them to your compost container.
Produce stickers are often made of plastic and do not biodegrade. If you’re tossing an apple core into a food waste cart, you probably peeled off the sticker before you ate it. But it’s easy to forget to remove the sticker from a banana or orange peel.
Removing stickers is time-consuming and expensive for composting facilities. Worse, it can be hard to catch all of them before they end up in the finished compost. Cut down on contamination: remove produce stickers before you add fruits or vegetables to your compost bin.
What about my yard waste? Can’t that be composted, too?
You’re right — yard waste can be composted! Just not in the new Food Scrap Drop-off Program. Chicago offers a free yard waste collection program from April 1 to November 30. Gather your leaves and grass in a paper yard waste bag and call 3-1-1 to request collection. Chicago uses your yard waste to make compost.
How should I collect my food scraps?
All you need to get started is a kitchen container with a lid. Then simply start a new habit: instead of tossing food scraps in the trash, add them to your compost container. Plan to take your container to your nearest food scrap location about once a week.
Please don’t use a liner bag. No bags, not even compostable bags, are accepted in the drop-off program. If you absolutely need to use one, dispose of it in the black trash can on site. Do NOT put it in the green food scrap carts.
Will my kitchen smell bad if I compost?
Odor shouldn’t be a concern. Your compost bin won’t smell any more than your regular trash does. And, because you’re collecting food scraps separately from the rest of your trash, you can store this smaller amount of waste in the fridge or freezer if you’re worried about unpleasant smells.
When are the drop-off locations open?
Daily, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. If there’s not currently a location close to you, keep checking back here for updates as the city expands the program.
What do I do when I get there?
When you visit your local drop-off location, you’ll dump your food scraps into a green cart. To open the cart, unlock the latch by squeezing the buttons. After you dump your food items into the cart, make sure to close the latch securely so wildlife cannot get in.
Each site has multiple green carts. Make sure you fill up one completely before using an empty one. If you have a bag or liner for your container, put it in the black trash cart on site — not the green cart.
What happens to my food scraps?
Thanks to you, your food scraps will NOT end up in a landfill. Instead, Chicago Department of Streets and Sanitation will collect the scraps and send them to Harbor View Composting Facility in Chicago, where they will be processed into compost.
Learn More: Composting options, tips to reduce food waste, and Chicago’s future food waste initiatives
I want to compost, but I need someone to come to me. Do I have any options in Chicago? Yes, there are multiple companies that offer door-to-door composting services, with varying costs. Check out this list of compost pickup services in Chicago for more information.
I’m a DIYer. Can I compost at home? You can! If you have a backyard, you can set up a compost bin outside. The EPA has tips for getting started with composting. And if you don’t have a backyard, you can still vermicompost, which requires keeping a worm bin and adding food scraps and paper. Don’t let the worms gross you out! Trust us, this is a fun project, especially if you have kids.
It’s frightening how much food Americans waste. What else can I do?The amount of food waste generated in the United States is problematic. But we can all take action to reduce how much food goes uneaten. Plan meals, make a detailed shopping list, be mindful about consuming the food you purchase, and keep track of expiration dates. You can also create an “eat first” shelf in your fridge to remind the whole household which food items to eat before they go bad. Here’s a helpful tool for minimizing your food waste.
What’s next for composting in Chicago? The city’s goal is to divert 90% of its waste by 2030. Composting, since it captures a major part of the waste stream, is an important part of the solution. The city’s food scrap sites are an initial step in a larger composting strategy.
Continue to follow Recycle by City to learn about composting and other opportunities to reduce your waste. In the meantime, sign up for a food scrap drop-off location. Thanks for composting, Chicago!
