What
You Need To Know
- This is a new, permanent
program! Please read this carefully to
help ensure that it is a success.
- Residents may bring food
waste during open hours. No
yard waste, soup, liquids or grease. Email
us at compost@cambridgema.gov
for program updates.
- Businesses
can sign up for curbside service.
- We are located at 147 Hampshire
Street and the Center is open Tues/Thurs
4-7:30pm & Sat 9-4pm. We are closed
to the public at all other times.
 Collect
food waste in a paper bag, 5-gallon pail
or another reusable container. Reuse a
kitty litter container as a food waste
scrap bucket!
- You
may want to line your food waste collection
container with a paper bag or plastic
bag. Just remember if you use a plastic
bag, you will need to empty it and bring
the dirty plastic bag home to dispose
with your household trash.
- Bring food waste to the
Recycling Center during open hours only
and empty into the brown toters.
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What
is accepted?
- All vegetable &
fruit scraps
- Coffee grounds,
filters & tea bags
- Eggshells &
nutshells
- Grains & baked
goods
- Meat, fish, bones,
cheese
(Please wrap in newspaper or paper bags)
- Food-soiled napkins
& paper towels
(no tissues, <<MORE
INFO)
- Food-soiled, biodegradable
paper products
(Only US Composting Council certified,
no plastic coated. Click
here for approved
products.)
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What is not accepted?
- No soup
- No liquids
- No grease
- No chinese takeout containers
- No plastic
- No Styrofoam
- No metal
- No glass
- No non-biodegradable items
- No pet or human waste.
- No compostable diapers.
- No yard
waste. Place yard waste loose
in paper lawn bags or in barrels with
red City stickers for curbside pickup
April-mid December.
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Frequently
Asked Questions
- Can I compost at
home?
Yes! If you have a backyard, you can buy
an outdoor compost bin from
DPW. Even if you don't have outdoor space,
you can compost
with worms indoors.
- Which
paper products are biodegradable and certified
by the US Composting Council?
Any food-soiled napkins, paper towels
are OK. For plates, cups, trays, etc.
visit the Biodegradable Products Institute
website
to see a list of approved products that
have the US Composting Council logo.
Pizza boxes are OK. HOWEVER, please help
us maximize space in the toters by only
bringing the food-soiled part of the box.
Rip off the clean side of the pizza box
and recycle with your papers for curbside
pickup or in the cardboard compactor at
the Center.
- How often should
I bring my food waste to the Drop-off
Center?
It depends on you. Please remember that
we will only accept it during open hours
(Tues/Thurs 4-7:30pm and Sat 9-4pm).
- Your hours
or location are not convenient for me.
Are there other drop-off options?
Yes! Whole
Foods at 115 Prospect Street
is our 1st community partner in this program!
They are now accepting food waste from
customers everyday from 8am-10pm. The
toters for organics are located in the
rear of the parking lot on the left side.
- How can I minimize
odors in my food waste collection container?
- Rinse it out at home
- Use a paper bag as liner
- Compost napkins, paper towels and biodegradable
paper products (see #2)
- Wrap meat in newspaper or paper bags
- Try freezing food scraps
- Why can't I compost
soup, liquids or grease?
It is extremely important that we manage
this pilot program
in a clean manner in the DPW yard to make
it a success.
- Why aren't tissues
accepted?
We cannot accept anything soiled with
human waste for sanitary reasons.
- Can I bring yard
waste to the Drop-off Center?
No. Yard waste has never been accepted
at the Center because we do not have the
space for it. Please prepare yard waste
for weekly curbside collection April to
mid-December. <<MORE
- Where will the
food waste collected at the Drop-off Center
be composted?
Save That Stuff, a local recycling hauler,
will pick up the food waste and bring
it to a composting facility on the North
Shore.
- How can businesses
set up a composting program?
Call Save That Stuff at 617-241-9998 to
set up curbside service. The
drop-off program is for residents only,
as we are unable to handle the volume
of food waste from businesses.
<<MORE
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Composting
is climate-friendly
By recycling food, we reduce methane emissions
at landfills that result from decaying organic
matter. Methane is 72 times more potent
than carbon dioxide over a 20-year timeframe!
We are diverting at 1500 least pounds/week,
avoiding at least 78,000 pounds of CO2 per
year.
For more information about
the City's Climate Protection Plan, click
here.
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Will composting
save money?
Yes. We will be charged $95/ton
for composting collection compared to paying
$97/ton to send it to a landfill or incinerator.
In addition, the City might save a little
on fuel and maintenance with our rubbish
trucks.
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