Plan to Prevent Food Waste

• Check what you already have on hand in your kitchen. 
• Plan meals for the week around items you have in your pantry, refrigerator or cabinets. 
• Consider meal planning for when you will have eat leftovers or go out to eat.
• Make a list of items you need for meals and be sure to include how much you need of each ingredient. 
• Know the meaning of date labels like “sell by,” “use by,” and “best buy."
• Track what items you use or throw out. 

All organic material decomposes eventually. Composting helps organic matter decompose quickly by providing an ideal environment for the matter to break down with the help of bacteria, fungi, and other organisms like worms. Compost is the decomposed matter that is rich in nutrients and helps fertilize gardens and farms. The are several different methods of composting (windrows, turned windrows, aerated static piles, in-vessel systems, backyard bins, and more).

Composting Benefits

• Compost keeps food and yard waste out of landfills, which also reduces methane gas emissions.
• Compost is a valuable fertilizer and helps soil retain more water.
• Setting up and maintaining compost bins/piles is easy and inexpensive.
• Discarding material to a compost pile is often quicker than bagging and bundling sticks for yard disposal.

Where to Compost

There are four places that you can compost: curbside, local drop-off sites, the backyard and inside. If you plan to take compost material to a local drop-off site or place at the curb, please read local guidelines about how compost material should be packaged as it varies by county or town.

• Curbside: Some cities and counties offer curbside pickup for food and yard waste. Check out the Guide to Curbside Composting. Individuals and businesses can contact private compost companies for service.
• Local Drop-Off Points: Governments and private companies provide compost drop-off points.
• Backyard: There are a variety of easy ways to compost in your backyard. Choose a dry, shady spot near a water source. Check out the Guide to Backyard Composting.
• Inside: two main ways to compost inside - bokashi or vermicomposting (aka using worms).

Compostable Materials

What you compost depends on how you compost. There are items you can always compost like produce; items you can sometimes compost like bones; and items you can never compost like plastic. When you use backyard composting methods, include items you can always compost. When your food waste will be processed by a commercial composter, you can often include the sometimes-compostable items but always check with your composter to know which items are allowed.  

• Always Compost: Fruit and Vegetable Scraps; Leaves and Dried Flowers; Grass Clippings; Wood Chips and Mulch; Egg and Nut Shells; Rice, Bread, and Wheats
• Sometimes Compost: Food Soiled Paper Products; Meat and Bones; Seafood and Shells; Dairy Products; Fats, Oils, and Grease; Compostable Plastics
• Never Compost: Plants Infected with Disease or Insects; Evergreen Leaves; Ivy and Pernicious Weeds; Feces (from any animal); Non-Compostable Plastics; Hazardous Chemicals and Cleaning Supplies; Glass

How to Compost

Compost requires four ingredients: “Greens,” “Browns,” Oxygen, and Water

• “Greens” are typically fresh organic material and are high in nitrogen. Some green items are fresh grass and plant trimmings, food scraps, coffee and tea grounds.
• “Browns” are usually brown plant material and are high in carbon. Brown items include dead leaves, compostable paper products, and sticks.

Decomposers need oxygen and water like any other living thing. Good access to oxygen helps materials decompose faster. You can layer the materials, put them in small pieces, and turn the piles regularly.

Compost piles also should be moist. Food waste will usually make them wet enough, but sometimes you need to add water.