
Food Waste Composting

Coming Soon - Curbside Food Waste Composting Pilot

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) selected the City of Alexandria as one of the 2023 Composting and Food Waste Reduction Cooperative Agreement recipients. With USDA's support, the City will soon launch a pilot curbside food waste composting program for selected residents receiving City trash and recycling services. This program will be separate from yard waste collections, and participants will be able to compost food waste at the curb every week.
The curbside composting pilot program will be in addition to the free farmers' market composting services that the City provides to all residents, expanding ways residents can divert waste from trash and creating compost soil, a nutrient-rich soil amendment.
Registration for the pilot program is expected to open to residents late February, with collections expected to start this Spring. As part of this program, the City will also be conducting a Food Waste Reduction outreach campaign to provide residents with everyday tips to reduce food waste impact at home. More information will be updated on this page soon.
Alexandria's Composting Programs
Reducing Food Waste in Alexandria

When food is wasted, it also wastes the resources. We’re not just creating a problem, we’re also missing an opportunity to save businesses and residents money: Waste Less and Spend Less – You can spend less and waste less by buying only the food you will use. Preventing wasted food can also reduce energy and labor costs associated with throwing away good food.

Preventing Food Waste
Prevent food waste with tips for shopping wisely, using the food you have, and keeping food fresh longer. Check out Save the Food's website for tools such as an interactive dinner party calculator, a digital tool to help you create your next shopping list to meal prep, an interactive

Refill and Package Free
Have you been curious about reducing waste or going package free? Watch this virtual Reduce and Reuse: Sustainability Made Simple Workshop to learn a few easy tips on shopping package-free and reducing your household packaging and plastic waste.