What
You Need To Know
- This is a new 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.
 You’ll
get one free 2.5-gallon bucket to collect
kitchen waste. Feel free to use a different
collection container. Some residents collect
food waste in a paper bag, 5-gallon pail
or another container.
- Please make sure to sign
up the first time you drop-off food waste
or when you pick up your scrap bucket.
Residents will be able to come to the
front desk at 147 Hampshire during regular
business hours to pick up the free scrap
bucket.
- Place
food inside bucket or line it with a paper
bag. NO plastic or biodegradable bags.
- Bring your bucket to the
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, liquids or grease.
No chinese takeout containers, plastic,
Styrofoam, metal, glass or other non-biodegradable
items.
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 scrap bucket?
- Rinse out your bucket 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 23 times more potent
than carbon dioxide! Our goal is to divert
at least 400 pounds/week, avoiding about
20,000 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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