Transform Food Scraps into Community Impact
Composting made simple with convenient drop-off locations right in your neighborhood.
Shared Composting, Close to Home
Community Compost sites give registered members a convenient neighborhood location to empty food scraps collected at home.
Choose an existing community below, or contact us to discuss starting a new site for your neighborhood, condominium, apartment community, workplace, or organization.
Choose Your Community to Join
Select your location to view its Community Dashboard and sign up.
What Compostables Are Accepted?
Use your Purple Bin or another household container to collect accepted food scraps and plant-based materials.
- Fruit and vegetable scraps
- Dairy items
- Eggshells
- Meat, bones and seafood
- Bread, pasta and cereal
- Nuts and shells
- Seeds and pits
- Coffee grounds and loose-leaf tea
- Coffee filters and tea bags
- Tofu
- Paper towels, napkins and bags
- Unlined and uncoated paper plates
- Flowers and houseplant trimmings
- Pizza boxes
- Cotton fabric and pet food
- Anything that grows
Monthly Membership Plans
Composting is community drop-off in both plans. The second plan adds monthly Hard-to-Recycle recycling pickup at your home.
Compost Drop-Off Only
- Drop off up to 4 gallons of food scraps each week
- Access to your designated community cart
- Community impact reporting
Community Drop-Off + Home Pickup
- Plastic Film & Bags and Crinkly Packaging
- Textiles and Styrofoam
- Batteries and Light Bulbs
- ReCo Picks with 20+ rotating materials per year
- Starter kit and clean reusable canvas bags each month
Community Compost setup is $5 when using your own container or $15 with a Purple Bin. Current Hard-to-Recycle members can email help@therecollective.co to add Community Composting.
Community Compost Drop-Off Sites
Community carts provide a convenient shared location for registered members to empty their household container.
Toward Zero Waste Partnership
Community Composting is made possible through a partnership between The ReCollective and Toward Zero Waste.
Toward Zero Waste provides valuable resources for communities seeking more information on waste-conscious living, including hard-to-recycle and non-recyclable materials. Learn more and get involved.
How Does Community Composting Work?
Members collect food scraps at home, then bring them to a shared Community Compost cart located nearby. Members keep their own Purple Bin or household container.
Gather accepted food scraps in your Purple Bin or another container.
Take your container to your designated neighborhood drop-off location.
Use your membership code, empty the container into the cart, and securely re-lock it.
Track Your Community’s Impact
The ReCollective weighs collected food scraps and updates each participating community’s dashboard with its diversion progress.
Community dashboards make it easy to see how many pounds have been kept out of the landfill and share the results with friends and neighbors.
Community Composting FAQs
How do I start a Community Compost drop-off in my neighborhood?
Schedule a conversation with The ReCollective to discuss your community’s space and needs. A new hub requires at least five committed participating households.
Who processes the collected food scraps?
The ReCollective partners with Brooks Contractor, a regional commercial composter, to process collected food scraps.
Why is the community collection cart locked?
The lock helps prevent contamination and ensures the available cart space is reserved for registered members. Members receive the access code for their selected hub.
Do I have to use a Purple Bin?
No. The Purple Bin is encouraged and available as part of the full setup option, but you may use another container that works for your household.
Are liners required?
No. Liners are optional. Avoid bioplastic liners. Compostable paper bags or a regular grocery bag used only to transport scraps are better choices.
How often is the shared cart serviced?
Locations with 10 or more members are generally serviced weekly. Hubs with 5 to 9 members are generally serviced every other week, although service days can occasionally shift.
I already have Hard-to-Recycle service. How do I add Community Composting?
Email help@therecollective.co so the team can add Community Composting and apply the combined membership pricing.
Do you accept compostable plastics?
No. Compostable plastic bags, cups and utensils are not accepted. Certain BPI-certified paper and fiberware may still be accepted.
Ready to Start Composting?
Select your participating community, choose your plan, and begin diverting food scraps close to home.