HomeComposting in Chittenden County

Composting in Chittenden County

In Chittenden County, food scraps account for nearly ONE THIRD of most people’s trash. You can keep these items out of the landfill – and put them to better use by composting them!

Composting is the process by which microorganisms decompose organic material like food scraps and yard debris, producing a nutrient-rich soil amendment for your garden or house plants.

All food scraps collected at CSWD Drop-Off Centers are processed at Green Mountain Compost in Williston.

CSWD encourages all residents, businesses, and institutions to find a method of managing food scraps and yard trimmings that works for them since all food scraps must now be kept out of the trash under Vermont law. We’re here to help!

At home

Backyard Composting

If you have the space and time, you can manage a lot of food scraps and yard debris at home in a system that also produces compost for your lawn or garden! Learn more on our Backyard Composting page.

Attend a free, hands-on backyard composting workshop by CSWD and Green Mountain Compost!
View dates and sign up for the composting workshop.

Drop-Off Composting

You can also bring all of your leaves, yard trimmings, and food scraps (including meat, bones, and dairy) to us! You can bring these items to any of our Drop-Off Center locations.

At your school or business

If you have space and willing participants to maintain the pile, you can set up a Backyard Composting system at your school or business

Talk to your trash and recycling hauler about contracting with them for pickup. See our pickup services page for a current list of haulers that are offering this service.

Sources for certified compostable bags:

Several local markets now carry certified compostable bags in sizes from 3 to 13 gallons.  Several brands are acceptable, but the package and the bag must say “Certified Compostable” and include an accepted certification logo such as this one:

BPI label for compostable in industrial facilities. Check locally, as these do not exist in many communities. Not suitable for backyard composting.

We do not accept foodware–cups, utensils, bowls, to-go packaging, etc.–of any kind, regardless of the certification.