The City of Boston has launched a free, curbside food waste collection service for residents living in buildings with 6 units or fewer.
Participation for year one of this program, which began in August 2022, filled up within a matter of weeks – but new households will be added each year. Interested residents are encouraged to pre-enroll for year 2, with service beginning in Summer 2023.
How it works:
Participation in this program is as easy and convenient as placing your trash and recycling curbside, with a new separate bin for food waste and compostables. Once enrolled, you will receive a starter kit including a kitchen container, roll of certified compostable liners, and a curbside bin. Your kit will also include educational materials that list accepted items and best practices. Your food waste will be collected weekly on your trash and recycling day.
| 1. Line your bin and start collecting your food scraps. |
| Use a paper bag or certified compostable liner. For a list of accepted items, please visit our FAQ. |
| 2. Weekly Curbside Collection. |
| Place your bin curbside by 6am on your weekly trash day. We recommend you rinse your bin after service to keep it clean. |
| 3. We’ll take it from here! |
| Collected food scraps will be processed into nutrient-rich compost at a composting facility in West Bridgewater, or recycled through anaerobic digestion to create clean energy. Learn more about both of these processes here. |
For more details on this program, visit boston.gov/food-waste.
Over three years, one household can divert roughly 1 TON of food scraps from the waste stream.
Roughly one-third of household waste is made up of food waste and organic materials. Help Boston reach its zero-waste goals: use your curbside food waste bin to collect these items to be recycled instead of wasted!