Frequently Asked Questions

Here is a list of common questions and concerns. If you don't see an answer to your question here, don't hesitate to contact us.

  • All food scraps and certified compostable products can be put in your container. See our What to Compost page for guidance.

  • You want an easy, actionable way to combat climate change and make a positive difference in your loved ones’ futures. Diverting your food scraps from a landfill through composting both reduces the amount of methane your household is responsible for producing and recovers resources to enable the nutrients present in your food waste to become a natural fertilizer to regenerate our soil.

  • Our 5-gallon buckets have lids that seal tightly. Our 32-gallon totes are bagged and also have a lid. When the containers are closed, they do not smell. As it gets closer to your pickup day, you may notice that the contents smell when you open it. The odor dissipates soon after you’ve closed it up. If keeping your bucket or tote outside is an option, that would help. Some customers freeze some of their food scraps and place them in our collection containers on the swap-out day. Click here for ideas on how to set up compost collection in your kitchen. You may also see our blog post about managing your compost collection during the summer for additional tips and tricks.

  • If you experience squirrel damage to your compost buckets, let us know, and we’ll deliver a Squirrel Stopper Lid. There are other solutions as well, the most effective being keeping your bucket in the garage, or inside, or placing it in a 10-gallon steel can with a locking lid. Read more about squirrels and composting here.

  • Yes! Any food item can go in your bucket. Click here for a comprehensive list of acceptable items.

  • Check out our service area map. We also have special community programs in Evanston, Park Ridge, and Skokie.

  • Each spring, we offer 10 free gallons of finished compost to our customers at what we’ve named our Spring Finished Compost Gift-Back. We offer several different days for customers to bring their own containers, collect their compost, and have the opportunity to purchase more if they need more. We partner with our colleagues in the local composting and farming community to provide this gift for our customers. Learn more about finished compost gift-back.

  • Especially in the warmer weather, your compost may attract insects; therefore, we recommend you keep your bucket outside and collect it into a smaller receptacle indoors, if possible, to limit the amount of time your food waste sits indoors. We also recommend you rinse your indoor receptacle every time it is emptied. Read more suggestions about controlling compost odors.

  • By at least 30%. See a pie chart that illustrates the waste stream of a typical household here. Composting also raises recycling awareness; therefore, quite often, recycling rates increase in homes that compost.

  • Commercial composting is large-scale composting that is designed to handle a high volume of organic waste and is done at a commercial composting site. Commercial composting sites are businesses that process food scraps, compostable products, and yard waste to create a product: finished compost.

  • A commercial composting site takes ALL food waste, including meat, dairy, bones, and compostable disposables. Backyard composting is usually limited to fruit and vegetable scraps, tea bags, coffee grounds, and other items that more quickly decompose.

  • State Bill 99 passed in 2009 to make large-scale food scrap composting legal in Illinois. Statewide, organic waste represents 1/3 of the trash brought to Illinois landfills. The bill created smarter regulations for commercial composting, making it appealing economically for investors to start commercial operations. Kay McKeen from SCARCE originated the idea for the bill and worked on it for 5 years. Senator Steans sponsored the bill, and Jennifer Walling, now of the Illinois Environmental Council, worked with McKeen to introduce the original bill. State Bill 99 was written with input from both environmental organizations, as well as from the waste industry.

  • Commercial composting, backyard composting, and vermicomposting (composting with worms) are the three main types of composting. (See above for more information about commercial composting.) Backyard composting can be done in an outdoor bin and is mostly limited to fruits and vegetables, leaves and grass clippings, and other items that won't attract pests. Vermicomposting can be done indoors in a small container and is great for apartment dwellers. Almost anything that can be put in a typical outdoor compost pile can be put in a worm bin. All three types of composting greatly reduce household waste, as well as create a nutrient-rich soil.