Ready to Compost in the Town of Somerset
The Town of Somerset is offering weekly curbside compost pick-up for all residents funded by the Town of Somerset, Maryland.
The free service includes a 5-gallon bin, which is usually enough for households of 1-4 people. If you have more people or if you cook frequently and have a lot of food waste, you can upgrade to a 12-gallon bin, for $4.00 per month. As long as your address is within the Town of Somerset, these rates will automatically be applied when you sign up.
How does it work?
Residents who are accepted into the program will receive a free bin. Instead of sending waste to local landfills, residents will be able to place items such as fruit scraps, vegetable scraps, meat and bones in this dedicated bin for food waste collection. Compost Crew will pick up your food scraps on a weekly basis and deliver them to a local composting site.
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.
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.