On Earth Day, 2021 the City of Portland launched the community composting program to help Portland residents reduce the amount of food they waste and manage food scraps from the kitchen by composting for FREE.
Why compost?
- Save money by using fewer trash bags.
- Say goodbye to stinky, dripping trash (and reduce how often you have to take the trash out).
- Keep food scraps from going to waste or landfill!
- Support composting at local farms.
Locations for Drop-Off
We've established convenient locations across the City for residents to drop off food scraps.
- Boyd Street Community Garden (2 Boyd Street)
- Brentwood Farms Community Garden (178 Brentwood Street at the edge of Evergreen Cemetery)
- Libbytown Community Garden (175 Douglass Street)
- North Street Community Garden (195 North Street)
- Parkside, King Middle School (92 Deering Ave, in the back of the school near the Portland Fitzpatrick Stadium parking lot)
- Payson Park Community Garden (Drop-off located at 82 Front Street)
- Reiche School (166 Brackett Street, drop-off on the Clark Street side)
- Riverton Community Garden (Drop-off located at far end of the Gerald E. Talbot Community School parking lot)
- Parks, Recreation and Facilities (212 Canco Rd)
- Peaks Island (Trott-Littlejohn Park)
How to Compost at Home
Residents are advised to collect food scraps at home in any container (covered is best to reduce odors). When it is full, bring it to one of the collection sites and empty it into one of the containers. Each drop-off site will have at least two covered containers for residents to use. The City recommends rinsing the container before using it again.
The collection program will be able to accept any food scraps from a household including fruits, vegetables, dairy products, meat, and bones, seafood, shells, eggshells, raw food, pits, peels, seeds, loose tea, and coffee grounds.
Items that cannot go in the bin include plastics and styrofoam, paper coated with plastic or foil, wax and parchment paper, metals, glass, pet waste and diapers, plastic wrap, twist ties, stickers, staples, tin foil, condiment packets & rubber bands.
