Local jurisdictions have contracts with franchised hauling companies to provide service for collection of garbage, recycling, yard debris and food scraps, and motor oil/filters for residences. Curbside services are also available for businesses.
Related topics:
Self-haul yard debris and food scraps
Home composting
Worm composting
Plates, bowls, cups, utensils, bags, or other food service ware labeled "biodegradable" or "compostable" cannot be composted in the backyard or placed in curbside carts. Backyard compost piles are too small to reach high enough temperatures to break them down. If placed in curbside green carts, the industrial composting facilities that receive them cannot easily distinguish these products from conventional plastic products. They are screened out and sent to the landfill. Please choose reusable items whenever possible and place compostable plastic products in the garbage.
Organic materials (organics) like food scraps, leaves, and yard prunings make up the single largest underutilized resource in the residential waste stream. In fact, according to the 2014 Sonoma County Waste Characterization Study, about 31% of residential garbage is organics, more than half of which is food. When landfilled, organics produce greenhouse gases that badly contribute to climate change. Composting that material instead will return organics to the soil, growing more food, and completing the cycle.
Recology Sonoma Marin Customers: Okay to place one paper bag of shredded paper in the GREEN COMPOST cart each week.
Sonoma County Resource Recovery Customers: Okay to place one paper bag of shredded paper in the YELLOW side of the RECYCLE cart each week.
Sonoma Garbage Collectors: Okay to place one paper bag of shredded paper in the BLUE RECYCLE cart each week.
Visit home composting to learn about composting classes, worm composting and bin purchase options.
Related topics:
See Bulky Item Pickup for pickup of excess yard debris/organics (bagged or bundled)
See Self-haul yard debris and food scraps
See Worm composting
The following resources are provided in English and Spanish language. Click on the image to download the pdf. Visit Downloads & Graphics to download the complete 24-page Zero Waste Guide.
