In this guide
- Why composting is essential
- Easy ways to start composting anywhere
- Kitchen scraps, food-soiled paper, and compostable products
- Lawn clippings, leaves, and other garden waste
- Start composting in your area right now
Related guides
Composting is the act of turning organic waste (like kitchen scraps and lawn clippings) back into soil.
Why composting is essential
When organic waste goes into landfills, it can’t decompose aerobically, so it pollutes the atmosphere with methane.
When organic waste is composted properly, it can decompose aerobically—turning into stable, rich humus which regenerates the soil and creates healthier plants.
Ultimately, it reduces food waste, methane emissions, and the need for chemical fertilizers.
Easy ways to start composting anywhere
Whether you use a service like Recycled City or compost in your own yard, collect the following items into a container that you can empty as needed into your composting bin:
Kitchen scraps, food-soiled paper, and compostable products
- Fruit and veggie scraps
- Pasta, bread, and grains
- Coffee grounds and paper filters
- Teabags
- Nut shells and eggshells
- Cheese, yogurt, and other dairy
- Meat (including bones)
- Old herbs and spices
- Paper napkins & plates
- Toilet paper/paper towels and the roll itself
- Paper fast food packaging, like pizza boxes and wrappers
- All certified compostable products
- Fingernail clippings & hair trimmings
- Pet hair, pet nail clippings, and pet food
- Household plants and soil
Lawn clippings, leaves, and other garden waste
- Grass clippings from your lawn
- Fallen leaves
- Dead plants
- Old soil
- Tree branches (invest in a mulcher)
- Chicken poop (but beware other kinds of poop)
Start composting in your area right now
You can use products like Lomi:
And find places that accept compost in your area:
All you need is:
If you don’t have the space—or desire—to collect compost on your own property, you can opt for a composting service to take it away instead. Certain areas in the City of Phoenix, for example, can opt for a $5/month green organics container which then goes to the City’s amazing composting facility. You can also subscribe to a service like Recycled City, which will provide you with an air-tight kitchen pail and come collect + replace it with a clean one every week, 2 weeks, etc.