The City of Houston is offering a six-week composting pilot program, from October 20 - November 27. Residents may participate by collecting food scraps throughout the week in any container or bag of their choosing (pro tip: keeping a bag in your freezer is an easy way to collect without the smell). Drop off on Wednesdays at the Heights Historic Fire Station, or on Saturdays at Kashmere Multi-Service Center and the Houston Botanic Garden. You may drop off organic waste by driving up to the parking lot of these locations (addresses & site specific hours listed below), where

Zero Waste Houston or Moonshot Composting will retrieve the scraps. You can stay in your vehicle! 

 

From the City of Houston press release:

The pilot program was developed collaboratively between the City’s Solid Waste Management Department and the Mayor’s Office of Resilience and Sustainability, with support from City Council Members Sallie Alcorn, Abbie Kamin, Robert Gallegos, and Tarsha Jackson.

 

“Houston residents, businesses, and institutions generate approximately 6.2 million tons of municipal solid waste per year,” said Mayor Turner. “Expanding composting opportunities in Houston aligns with the city’s Climate Action Plan, Resilient Houston, and the Solid Waste Department’s draft long-range plan. Whether it’s in our homes or our farms, composting helps to reduce organic wastes, which in return, helps to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases.”

 

According to the EPA, in the United States, food is the single largest category of material placed in municipal landfills, where it emits methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. Municipal solid waste landfills are the third-largest source of human-related methane emissions in the United States, accounting for approximately 14.1 percent of these emissions in 2017.
The methane emissions from municipal landfills in 2019 were approximately equivalent to the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from more than 21.6 million passenger vehicles driven for one year or the CO2 emissions from nearly 12 million homes’ energy use for one year.

 

The pilot program will also allow the city to gather data on both community interest as well as on organics diversion. The program allows for a significant amount of organic items to be composted, including fruit and vegetable waste, paper towels, and more.  A full list of items, as well as additional information about the program, is available at Composting (houstontx.gov).

 

Begins Wednesday, October 20th 

Ends Saturday, November 27th

 

 

Kashmere Gardens Multi-Service Center - 4802 Lockwood Dr, Houston, TX 77026
6 Saturdays, 9AM-11AM  (Oct. 23 - Nov. 27)

 

The Historic Heights Fire Station - 107 W 12th St, Houston, TX 77008
6 Wednesdays, 5PM-7PM  (Oct. 20 - Nov. 24)

 

Houston Botanic Garden - 1 Botanic Lane, Houston, TX 77017
6 Saturdays, 9AM-11AM   (Oct. 23 - Nov. 27)

 

What can you bring?: Quick Guide: 

 

For questions or comments, contact Frank Blake at frankblake@juno.com