Heads Up: All facilities will be CLOSED on Tuesday, Nov. 11 for Veteran's Day. The Organics Recycling Facility will be open for drop-off only. Please plan ahead.
From Scraps to Soil: Take a Peek Behind the Pile at CSWD’s Composting Facility!
Ever wonder what happens to your banana peels, apple cores, and lawn clippings after they leave your kitchen or curbside bin? At the CSWD Organics Recycling Facility, your leftovers are just getting started on an incredible journey — one that turns waste into life-giving compost for Vermont’s gardens, farms, and forests
Discover the Magic of Composting on a Behind-the-Scenes Tour
The Chittenden Solid Waste District (CSWD) invites you to take a FREE, eye-opening tour of our Organics Recycling Facility — home of wicked good Green Mountain Compost. This is no ordinary pile of rotting food. It’s a carefully managed, science-backed process that transforms millions of pounds of food scraps, leaves, yard trimmings, and natural wood into rich, dark compost that helps Vermont’s soil thrive.
On the tour, you’ll:
- Follow the journey of food scraps from drop-off to finished compost
- See the big machines in action — from massive grinders to slow-turning windrow machines
- Learn the science behind composting: temperature tracking, oxygen levels, and microbial magic
- Smell the difference between raw scraps and earthy, finished compost
- Understand your impact — how your scraps help reduce landfill waste and fight climate change
I VERY much enjoyed the Tour and the composting tips last month. I have been making lots of changes at my house, the main one being that I don’t lazily put ANY food scraps in my trash anymore! When you showed what happens to the food scraps and how it causes problems, I determined I wasn’t going to contribute to that anymore. I never understood that before, but now I’m telling everyone I know!
Roxanne B.-April tour participant
Who Should Come?
This tour is perfect for:
- Curious community members who want to see where their waste goes
- Gardeners and farmers looking to understand the compost they use
- Educators and students exploring sustainability and environmental science
- Anyone who wants to take their composting knowledge (and nose) to the next level!
Why It Matters
Vermonters are doing their part by keeping food scraps out of the landfill — and it’s working. But the real magic happens at our Organics Recycling Facility, where we ensure those scraps return to the earth in the most beneficial way possible. Touring the facility connects the dots between your home and the bigger picture of sustainable waste management.
Sign-Up for a Tour Today!
Whether you’re a composting newbie or a seasoned soil nerd, the CSWD Organics Recycling Facility will leave you inspired. Come see — and smell — how scraps become soil, and why every peel, pit, and pruning makes a difference. Public tours offered last Saturday of each month through September.
