The average American creates 400 lbs of food scraps every year. That’s a lot of waste, but it doesn’t mean it all has to go in the trash. Starting January 1, 2022, many food scraps can actually be added to your green cart and used to create compost!
Choose a container like a bowl or pail. Put it in a convenient place in the kitchen.
Collect your food scraps from meal prep, after a meal, and from cleaning out the fridge.
Place food scraps in your green cart. (Note: Plastic bag liners cannot be placed in the green cart.)
Food scraps come from unwanted trimming from meal prep, those last bits of a meal, and food that’s been in the fridge too long. That toast that got a bit to toasty and those strawberries dressed in blue fuzz? That’s compost. They go in the green cart too.
If you have your hands on your hips right now, we understand. The rule has some exceptions! Manufactured, process, and prepared foods go in the green cart as well. That means all those yummy goods like pizza, chicken nuggets, cookies ect.
Here are some easy tips on how to prevent fruit flies and odors in both your kitchen as well as green cart:
Take your scraps to your cart every few days, even if not full. Remember that plastic should never be placed in the cart as it will ruin the compost!
Pick up a Free Kitchen Pail from your City!*
Visit our Pick Up Location page to learn where you can get yours!
*One Per Household. While supplies last, on a first-come, first-served basis.
Questions? Call our office at 831-775-3000.
Place food scraps, where they belong, in your green cart.
Believe it or not, food is the single largest contributor to U.S. landfills today. When food scraps make their way into landfills, they break down and produce a harmful greenhouse gas called methane. This gas is a major source of climate pollution and is 86 times more potent than carbon dioxide. Too much of these greenhouse gasses heats our planet to an unsustainable level. Present day, we are far above the desired limit for these gasses. In the Salinas Valley, food scraps are approximately 30 percent of the overall waste stream (approximately 66,700 tons).
Removing food scraps from our landfills is one easy way to immediately start decreasing methane emissions. By simply disposing of your food scraps in your green cart, we’ll transform them into compost that can help our gardens grow. Compost made from food scraps is not only nutrient-rich, but also helps trap moisture in the soil. This means that we can use this compost to limit the amount of irrigation water needed.
In the landfill, food scraps go to waste, but in your green cart they become compost for our farms and home gardens.
Here are some easy tips:
With up to 40% of all foods in the United States never eaten, there is a lot of room for improvement. Consumers are responsible for more wasted food than grocery stores and restaurants combined, so changing your own behavior can have major positive consequences. Do your part to keep food from going to waste. Learn more at our Stop Food Waste page.
Do you already use your food scraps to compost at home or to feed your animals? No need to worry! Continue using them and just place any excess in your green cart, so we can take care of the rest. Are you interested in learning more about creating compost in your own backyard? Take a look at our all-in-one resource to help you go from a composting newbie to an expert.
The Short-Lived Climate Pollutants Act establishes targets for statewide reductions in organic waste by 2025 in California:
This legislation aims to reduce the presence of food scraps in our landfills and thereby reduce methane emissions. We can all play our part in making these goals a reality. Find more info at: https://svswa.org/commercial/organics/sb1383/
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1104 Madison Lane
Salinas, CA 93907
Mon-Fri: 7am-4pm
Sat: 8am-4pm
(831) 775-3000
1104 Madison Lane
Salinas, CA 93907
Mon-Fri: 7am-4pm
Sat: 8am-4pm
(831) 424-5520
Johnson Canyon Landfill
31400 Johnson Canyon Rd.
Gonzales, CA, 93926
Mon-Fri: 7am-4pm
Sat. & Sun: 8am-4pm
(831) 675-2165
Jolon Road Transfer Station
52654 Jolon Rd.
King City, CA, 93930
Mon-Fri: 8am-4pm
Sat: 8am-12pm
(831) 385-0353
