Want to Compost Your Food Scraps in Greenbelt?
The City of Greenbelt has extended its curbside food waste collection program following the completion of its highly successful pilot program. Compost Crew, the City of Greenbelt, and Trinity Assembly of God sponsored and operated the pilot, with funding from a USDA grant. The pilot ended in August 2025, and the City of Greenbelt is continuing the service at a subsidized rate of $10 per month, per home. This is a discount of roughly 66% from the regular price for residential food scrap collection.
Who is eligible?
The program is open to anyone who lives in the City. You must be able to place your bin outside your yard close to the parking area for collection by the Compost Crew. You must purchase a Compost Crew bin for a one-time fee of $20.
Click the button below to get started!
How does it work?
Instead of sending waste to local landfills, residents will be able to place items such as fruit scraps, vegetable scraps, meat and bones in a dedicated bin for food waste collection. Compost Crew will pick up your food scraps weekly and deliver them to their Compost Outpost at Trinity Church. You and a neighbor may join together to fill this 7-gallon tote for weekly pickup.
Participation in the program helps Greenbelt reduce food waste going to the landfill. Food waste decomposing in landfills is a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions.
Collect
Similar to a recycling service, we collect food waste and other organic material from the local community to be composted and reused. We collect from both residential and commercial customers.
Compost
Nearly 40% of our solid waste may be composted! We use cutting edge technology and techniques to compost everything from meat and dairy products to grains and oily foods, soiled napkins, and more.
Cultivate
Finished compost can be used in the garden in your backyard to the crops on our local farms. It provides a slow release of nutrients and provides a strong and fertile foundation for plants to flourish.
Trinity Church Clean-up
The Sustainability Coordinator for the City of Greenbelt Government orchestrated a clean-up near Trinity Church. The Greenbelt ACES, local high school students and Compost Crew staff worked shoulder to shoulder with Mayor Emmett Jordan who readily grabbed some gloves and got to work!
Together, we rid the forested area of trash, removed pesky vines and over 100 abandoned tires.
FAQ
What is composting?
Composting is the natural aerobic (with oxygen) decomposition of organic matter into nutrient rich soil. We collect food scraps from your home or business weekly and get them into the composting process and out of the landfill. Why compost?
- Composting diverts our food scraps from landfills and incinerators.
- Our landfills are filling up, leading to longer and longer hauling distances, higher greenhouse gas emissions, higher waste management costs, and less space available for our trash. Food waste constitutes 22% of discarded municipal solid waste in America.
- When food scraps are left in a landfill or incinerated they release methane, a greenhouse gas that is 80 times as potent as CO₂.
- Composting is a sustainable alternative that puts the nutrients from our food scraps back into the earth and, eventually, our food system by using the finished compost as a fertilizer for local farms.
- Composting is the final step to completing a truly sustainable food
What can I compost with Compost Crew?
In short, you can compost all types of food — yes, including meat and dairy — and soiled paper products. Take a peek at our graphic list below and download!
For a comprehensive list, click here. We also have a translated the list into Spanish.