What happens to food scraps and yard waste

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Learn what happens to your green bin waste after it gets picked up from your home or workplace.
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Residential and business compost programs are different

What’s allowed in residential curbside compost bins is different than what’s allowed in businesses’ bins. That’s because residential food and yard waste are processed at a different type of facility than businesses’ food waste. It’s important to follow the guidelines so each facility can make the best possible product .

Homes: Food and yard waste make compost

A woman pushes a green compost roll cart to the street from her house. Large rows of compost are shown being processed at a commercial compost facility: The rows of nearly finished compost are deep brown, and in the background are trees and hills of the surrounding area.

Residential compost collection is a mix of yard waste, food scraps, and some food-soiled paper. It’s processed at a commercial compost facility that produces nutrient-rich compost used by farmers and home gardeners.

How it works: Compost is laid out in large rows that are regularly mixed, or “turned.” These rows function like a bigger, hotter version of a backyard compost bin.

Why food and yard waste are allowed: Food waste is a rich source of nutrients that farmers and gardeners need for healthy crops. Yard waste, including leaves, branches, and flowers, provides additional nutrients, as well as a balanced mix of fiber, and wet and dry materials. Limited non-food items are also allowed, including food-soiled paper towels and napkins, and pizza boxes.

Businesses: Food scraps make fuel and fertilizer

A food service employee puts a bag of food scraps into a green waste bin marked "food only." The next photo shows an anaerobic digestion facility: a group of 6 large gray industrial buildings, 5 of them round, surrounded by farmland.

Business compost is food only – no flowers, yard waste, or paper products. It’s taken to an anaerobic digestion facility that converts it into liquid fertilizer for crops and energy to power homes, businesses, and vehicles.

How it works: Food scraps are sent to an anaerobic digestion facility where they’re blended into a liquid and broken down by bacteria. The bacteria create methane, which is captured and burned to make electricity, as well as liquid natural gas (LNG) to fuel vehicles. It also creates a liquid fertilizer that enriches soil and helps plants grow.

Food is scraped into a bin labeled "food only," then a compost truck is shown picking up food waste, then an anaerobic digestion facility is shown (two round shaped buildings), and finally a light bulb (representing energy) and a small plant (representing soil enriching liquid fertilizer) are shown.

Note: Food scraps from businesses are sometimes sent to a commercial compost facility, in cases where an anaerobic digestion facility isn’t available.

Why only food is allowed: Food is what the bacteria want to eat, so only food is useful. Other items are contaminants and have to be filtered out.

Benefits of keeping food out of the landfill

In a landfill, food decomposes and creates methane, which, when released in the atmosphere, worsens climate change. Methane is 25 times as potent as carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere, so achieving significant reductions in methane emissions is critical for meeting our climate goals.

Additionally, when we send food and yard waste to the landfill, we're wasting a valuable resource that can be put to better use creating energy, compost, and other products that benefit our environment and economy.

Benefits of improving soil health

When the compost and liquid fertilizer made from Portland's food and yard waste is added to soil, improves soil health while reducing the need for chemical fertilizers.

It also helps the soil retain water, reducing the amount of water needed to help plants grow. As Professor Sally Brown from University of Washington explains:

“It’s like California Closets for your soil: Instead of just throwing everything on a heap on the floor, you put it in the appropriate units, and all of a sudden you have a lot more space. So water can soak in much more quickly. And also, there’s a lot more space for water to hang around, so this reduces your irrigation needs.” [source]

Healthy soil helps plants thrive and benefits microbes and plants that in turn sequester carbon from the air.