The Best Composting Services

Best Overall: WasteNot Compost

Why We Chose It

Committed to sustainability through and through, WasteNot began collecting compost materials on a bicycle in its early days and continues its dedication to zero emissions today with a fleet of 100% electric vehicles.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Fleet of vehicles is 100% electric
• Composting facility is fossil fuel-free
  
• Discounted price for shared bins in multi-family residences

Cons

• Does not provide WasteNot service person at events
• Does not yet serve all of Chicago
  

Overview

WasteNot Compost is a zero-emissions composting company that offers year-round service to homes, businesses, and events in and around Chicago.

After a customer signs up online, WasteNot drops off a 5-gallon bucket at their home or business to fill during the week. WasteNot then picks up the bucket(s) on the scheduled service date and leaves a clean bucket and fresh liner.

Clients can choose from one of two service options: one bucket with bi-weekly service for $12 per pickup or one bucket with weekly pickup for $10 per visit. Multi-unit residential service is also available for custom pricing, and WasteNot will create a custom composting program to meet the needs of your business.

Best in New York: Reclaimed Organics

Why We Chose It

Reclaimed Organics makes it easy for office buildings in New York City to assist with reducing their carbon footprint and also helps them give back to the community.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Scraps taken to community gardens or facility just outside NYC
• Compost collection via bicycle
• Provides zero-waste audits and education programs to businesses

Cons

• Does not service residences
• Services small businesses on a case-by-case basis only
• Serves Manhattan below 75th street, but no other boroughs

Overview

Our top pick in NYC is Reclaimed Organics, which offers weekly pick up of compostable scraps from office buildings and some small businesses in Manhattan, from 75th Street all the way down to Battery Park.

Customers receive notification of the neighborhood collection day and time so they can leave their buckets outside. Once picked up, the food waste is collected and sent to either a community garden or processing facility.

Best in Washington, D.C.: Compost Crew

Why We Chose It

We love Compost Crew because of its company values, which include constantly innovating to serve better and the zero-waste goals of local clients and communities.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Discounted rates when communities sign up as groups
• Fleet operates six days a week
  
• Drop-off program

Cons

• Only three drop-off locations

Overview

Compost Crew is located in Rockville, Maryland, and provides composting services to thousands of residences, businesses, and events throughout D.C., Maryland, and Virginia.

Residential pickup is available for homes, multi-units, communities, and entire municipalities and starts at $32 per month for weekly pickup—although this number may be lower in popular areas. Business service is available with custom pricing, and customers can also hire Compost Crew to help host zero-waste events.

On a mission to eliminate food waste and boost local soil health, Compost Crew is constantly coming up with novel ideas. Their Compost Outposts, which are modular compost sites, can be located anywhere, with some even powered by solar panels. The company has already composted tens of millions of pounds of organic material in its pursuit of a healthier and more sustainable lifestyle.

Best in Charlotte: Crown Town Compost

Why We Chose It

Crown Town makes our list because of its dedication to sustainability within its community.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Accepts all compostables
• Drop-off service
• Provides landscaping design and other landscaping services

Cons

• Does not service events

Overview

Crown Town offers pickup service to most homes and businesses in Mecklenburg County but also has two drop-off locations for those outside of the service area.

Residential composting starts at $35 per month for weekly pickup and includes a clean 3.5-gallon bucket each week; drop-off service is available for $20 per month. Crown Town provides 64-gallon containers for businesses and can build quotes to meet specific commercial needs.

Crown Town's dedication to neighborhood sustainability is admirable. Not only do they provide all clients with one 40-pound bag of compost each year, but Crown Town gives each customer the option to donate their compost to a local community or school garden, plus they match every donation!

Best in Orlando: O-Town Compost

Why We Chose It

in addition to offering residential and office compost pickup, O-Town Compost provides food waste recycling for events and helps customers host zero-waste functions.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Neighbors allowed to share a bucket
• Supplies compostable serving ware
• Special recycling service for hazardous waste
  

Cons

• Hazardous waste has separate subscription
  
• No drop-off service

Overview

Like composting services in other markets, O-Town Compost delivers a 5-gallon bucket to your house when you start service. They then pick up your full bucket every week or every other week and exchange it for a new, clean bucket.

Weekly pickups cost $32 per month and bi-weekly service is $24 per month. Then, every six months, O-Town Compost delivers 20 pounds of compost for you to use in your yard or garden.

Through O-Town Compost's customizable Green Events service, special events can get involved in composting too. The company will conduct an initial consultation, then provide everything from on-site compost and recycling bins to compostable serving ware and food waste processing, in order to bring an event as close to zero waste as possible. Plus, they donate any compost created from the event to a local agriculture project of the client's choosing.

If you prefer to keep your compost to use at home, request a free composter from the City of Orlando. 

Best in Nashville: Compost Nashville

Why We Chose It

With its super simple onboarding process for both residents and businesses, Compost Nashville was our best choice for this southern city.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• All clients entitled to complimentary bag of compost 
• Unwanted compost is donated
  
• Residential starter kit includes 4-gallon bucket

Cons

• No drop-off service
  
• No single pickups, must sign up for monthly service

Overview

Compost Nashville provides composting services to both residential and commercial customers in the Nashville area.

For $35 per month, residential customers receive a 4-gallon compost bin to fill and place outside for pickup once a week. Customers can add additional bins for $5 each and get a fridge magnet with a list of compostables and a bumper sticker to share their love for composting with the community. Then, twice a year, Compost Nashville customers receive compost for their home gardens and have the option of donating it to local gardens in need.

Commercial service starts at $130 per month and includes weekly pickup of a 65-gallon collection bin. As part of the service, businesses also receive an annual Waste Diversion Summary, a storefront window sticker, and a featured spot on the Compost Nashville website. Most importantly, compost created from commercial waste is donated twice a year to a local farm, community garden, or other local organization.

Best in Austin: Break It Down

Why We Chose It

Break It Down began as a composting service offered to businesses only, but now includes full-service recycling and has added apartment complexes to its clientele.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Accepts difficult-to-compost materials
• Robust recycling service
• Cardboard drop-off open to public

Cons

• Does not service single-family homes
  
• Cardboard drop-off available only five days per week

Overview

Break It Down operates seven days a week to help commercial clients reduce their waste through composting and recycling services.

In addition to collecting standard compostable food waste, Break It Down accepts meat, bones, and compostable serving ware, making it a full-service option for local businesses. Break It Down also provides customers with fully sealable bins and can deliver clean bins weekly or even daily to help avoid odors in your business.

Unlike many other composting services, Break It Down is also a full-service recycling service. Businesses can request 96-gallon roll carts to store on their property to collect glass, cardboard, plastics, metal, and paper—plus less commonly accepted plastic films and aseptic containers.

Break It Down also has a free cardboard drop-off location that’s available to the public five days a week. Many of Austin’s residents can also take advantage of the city’s Curbside Composting Collection program.

Best in Denver: Scraps

Why We Chose It

Passionate about having as small a carbon footprint as possible, Scraps collects waste materials via bicycle. The company was also the first business in Denver to offer composting services to multi-family dwellings.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Eight convenient drop-off locations
• Services multi-family buildings with seven or more units
  
• Super strict zero-waste policy for events

Cons

• Rigorous zero-waste events policy could be too strict for some
  

Overview

Scraps provides composting services for residential, office/commercial, and restaurant clients in several neighborhoods within Denver.

Residential service starts at $28 per month and includes multi-family buildings with more than seven units, which are the buildings excluded from the city’s composting program. Service is also available for restaurants and other businesses and starts at $150 per month.

Our favorite part about Scraps is that compost is collected on bicycles, making it a low-carbon way to contribute to sustainability within the Denver community. Customers in Denver, Littleton, Stapleton, and Wheat Ridge can also bring their compost buckets to drop-off locations for $17 per month for one location or $18 per month for access to all drop-off sites.