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How to Recycle Organic Waste
Compost almost all of it, but which items are allowed depends on where it's going. Backyard piles should skip meat, dairy, and oils; municipal curbside or drop-off organics programs in many cities take them anyway, since their industrial facilities run far hotter. Vermont bans landfilling food scraps and yard waste outright under Act 148, California requires commercial diversion under SB 1383, and a growing list of other states and cities have their own thresholds.
9 materials covered8 recyclable
Food Scraps
Vegetable peels, fruit scraps, coffee grounds, and other organic food waste.
Learn how to recycle Food Scraps
Yard Waste
Leaves, grass clippings, small branches, and garden trimmings.
Learn how to recycle Yard Waste
Christmas Trees
Natural Christmas trees after the holidays.
Learn how to recycle Christmas Trees
Wood Ash
Ash from burning untreated wood in fireplaces or wood stoves.
Learn how to recycle Wood Ash
Manure
Animal waste from livestock and pets.
Learn how to recycle Manure
Sawdust
Fine particles of wood produced by sawing.
Learn how to recycle Sawdust
Seaweed
Marine algae washed ashore.
Learn how to recycle Seaweed
Agricultural Waste
Crop residues, such as corn stalks, wheat straw, and vegetable trimmings.
Learn how to recycle Agricultural Waste
Compostable Packaging
Certified compostable bags, cups, plates, utensils, pods, and food containers. Their correct route depends on the local composting facility, not only the label on the package.
Learn how to recycle Compostable Packaging
Guides, tools, and research
Continue from individual material instructions to the broader guide, calculator, or research page for this topic.
Food scraps
Separate backyard-compost rules from municipal organics rules, especially for meat, dairy, bones, and oils.
Yard waste
Prepare leaves, grass, branches, and other plant material without plastic bags or treated wood.
Compostable packaging
A compostable label does not guarantee acceptance. Check whether your local facility accepts the item.
Food-soiled paper and cardboard
Resolve the pizza-box, napkin, and greasy cardboard decision before choosing paper recycling or organics.
Check an organic item
Look up a food, yard, or compostable product before it goes in a bin.
Organic Waste recycling overview
Organic waste splits into three composting pathways with different rules: backyard piles, municipal curbside or drop-off organics collection, and industrial or commercial composting and anaerobic digestion. Backyard bins rarely get hot enough to safely break down meat, dairy, or oils, but many municipal programs run at industrial temperatures and accept them, so the right answer depends on which pathway you're using. Food scraps and yard waste together make up more than a quarter of municipal solid waste, and composting them instead of landfilling avoids the methane that food waste produces as it decomposes without oxygen.
Common items
- • Fruit and vegetable scraps
- • Coffee grounds and tea bags
- • Eggshells and nut shells
- • Bread and grain products
- • Yard trimmings and grass clippings
- • Leaves and small branches
- • Food-soiled paper and cardboard
- • Hair and pet fur
- • Cut flowers and houseplants
- • Sawdust and wood shavings
Before drop-off
- 1. Separate organic waste from non-compostable materials
- 2. Keep meat, dairy, and oils out of backyard piles; check first if your municipal program accepts them
- 3. Balance 'greens' (nitrogen) with 'browns' (carbon) materials
- 4. Chop larger items into smaller pieces for faster decomposition
- 5. Keep compost moist but not waterlogged
- 6. Turn compost pile regularly for proper aeration
Environmental benefits
- • Aerobic composting avoids the methane that food and yard waste produce when they decompose in a landfill
- • Creates nutrient-rich soil amendment reducing need for chemical fertilizers
- • Sequesters carbon in soil improving long-term soil health
- • Diverts a large share of municipal solid waste from landfills when properly implemented
Practical and economic benefits
- • Compost industry worth $2.2 billion annually and growing 3.9% yearly
- • Reduces waste management costs by $50-85 per ton diverted
- • Finished compost sells for $15-50 per cubic yard
- • Home composting saves $600+ annually in fertilizer and soil amendments
Local rules vary
Vermont's Act 148 bans landfilling food scraps and yard waste for both households and businesses statewide, the broadest law of its kind. California's SB 1383 requires commercial organics diversion and mandates residential collection access. Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, and Washington have their own commercial thresholds, and several cities, like Austin and Seattle, run local requirements in states with no statewide law. Most other states have no organics mandate at all, so check your city or state program rather than assuming a rule applies.
Find organic waste recycling centers
Search recycling centers by city or ZIP, then call ahead to confirm they take organic waste.