New Public Food Waste Containers Ready for Drop Offs

Durham residents and City employees can download the CompostHere app to unlock two new containers. Drop in home leftovers and scraps to be converted to compost.

Durham residents can now drop food scraps into public containers at two pilot locations and the scraps will later be converted to compost. The new containers expand Durham's food waste collection services beyond the initial rollout of limited curbside collections.

What You Need to Know

• Residents and City employees can use food scrap containers at the City Hall loading dock at 101 City Hall Plaza and at the Waste Disposal and Recycling Center, 2115 E. Club Blvd.
• Users must download the CompostHere app to unlock a container; only acceptable items can be put into containers.
• Solid Waste Management staff will evaluate the pilot program through June 30, 2025.

The drop offs are a new, free option for residents and even City employees to divert waste from the landfill. It works like this: gather leftovers or scraps at home, download the CompostHere app, go to a CompostNow container, use the app to unlock it and leave only acceptable items inside the container. Solid Waste Management staff will monitor how quickly containers fill up and how frequently staff need to empty filled containers. Collected food waste will be delivered to the North Durham Water Reclamation Facility. Then, Atlas Organics will compost and sell the product.

Only Durham residents and City of Durham employees, who register through the app, can use the containers. Currently, there is no cost for subscribers to use the containers.

"We believe this is an innovative way to benefit the environment and reduce costs," Solid Waste Management Director Wayne Fenton said. "Right now, our pilot curbside collections program is only available to 440 households. So, drop-off locations will provide a great new opportunity for additional residents. More people can collect food scraps and bring them to our drop offs where they will be delivered to the City's composting site. We are thankful for the State grant that allows us to pilot drop off subscriptions for free."

People who sign up with the CompostHere app can see if drop off containers are full, send messages to staff, and receive service alerts. Containers are located at the loading dock on the lobby side of City Hall, 101 City Hall Plaza, and the Waste Disposal and Recycling Center (WDRC), 2115 E. Club Boulevard. Container instructions are available in the app. You can also read how to use a container on the City of Durham Composting webpage.

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality awarded the City of Durham a $20,000 Community Waste Reduction and Recycling grant to purchase the pilot food scrap drop-off units and subscriptions. The Solid Waste Department matched 20% of the grant with money from its operating budget. The grant covers costs of pilot subscriptions that will end in June 2025. CompostHere app users will not be automatically signed up for services beyond the term of the pilot.

Solid Waste staff will track trends to determine if more drop-off containers, in other locations, would benefit the community. Each drop-off location holds a 65-gallon cart for food waste. Only food waste scraps from residential locations, such as houses or apartments, are to go into containers. Improper use of a container can delay or hinder services for everyone. No business or event waste is to be placed in drop-off containers. Metal, plastic (including biobags), or glass are NOT allowed in containers.

People who do not follow container rules may have their access cancelled. Further education will be a priority for those who make mistakes so they learn what the City can and can't accept for compost.

The drop-off container at City Hall will be available 24/7 and the container at the WDRC can be used during WDRC operating hours. The CompostHere app is currently only available in English. Non-English speakers can visit the City's composting webpage and use Google Translate to see container instructions in their preferred language. Container users may smell food scraps, but we will test odor reducing strategies during the pilot. Odors should not pose a threat to public health.

We suggest container users:

• Use a bucket with a lid to collect food scraps at home. All food including fruit and vegetable waste, meat bones, and dairy are accepted.
• Limit your drop-off to no more than 1-3 gallons at a time.
• If you want to compost more, try at-home methods.
• Reduce your food waste. Plan ahead for meals, properly store fresh food, and eat leftovers, when reasonable to do so.

Email [email protected] to report problems with a food waste container or the CompostHere app. Contact Durham One Call at 919-560-1200 with questions about how to use a container.

About City of Durham Solid Waste Management Department

A thriving and vibrant environment is a goal in the City's Strategic Plan.

The mission of the City of Durham Solid Waste Management department is to provide residents with exceptional customer service and outstanding waste collection, recycling, composting, and disposal services. Our vision is for a circular economy that is an equitable, innovative, cooperative model that continually turns waste into resources by regionally recirculating materials for reuse, recycling, and remanufacture.

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