 Date: February 5, 2025
County launches "Include the Food" giveaways to keep food out of landfills
Kitsap County is giving away compost toolkits to encourage residents to “Include the Food” in their existing yard waste carts. The compost toolkits help residents store and carry food scraps from their kitchen to their collection cart.
What's included in the toolkit?
Each toolkit includes:
- Countertop bin with handle and lid
- Curbside Composting Guide
- BPI-certified bag liners
- Food Storage Guide
The Curbside Composting Guide and Food Storage Guide are also available for download on the Composting in Kitsap webpage.
Pledge to “Include the Food” and claim your free compost toolkit today, while supplies last.
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Curbside composting guidelines
All food and yard waste are accepted in yard waste carts. Residents are encouraged to add items such as eggs and eggshells, coffee grounds, bones, cheese, fruit and vegetable scraps, meat, leftovers, and more. Please help reduce contamination by following the Curbside Composting Guidelines.
Join the movement
Communities across Washington are moving toward placing all organic waste in yard waste carts to divert this material from the landfill and help meet statewide greenhouse gas reduction goals. Learn more about these goals on the Washington State Department of Ecology's Organic Management Laws webpage.
Interested in curbside composting? All homes in north and south Kitsap are eligible for service. Most homes in central Kitsap are also eligible. Visit our service lookup map to check if curbside composting service is available in your area.
Service providers collect organic materials from your home for composting on the Kitsap Peninsula. Most collected organic materials are composted at North Mason Fibers in Belfair. Some organic materials from north Kitsap households are composted at DTG’s Olympic Organics in Hansville.
Keeping food waste out of the landfill helps the climate
In Washington, 1.2 million tons of food are sent to landfills each year. When food rots in landfills, it produces methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. Food waste is responsible for 58% of methane emitted from landfills, equal to the yearly emissions of 15 coal-fired power plants (EPA and USDA, 2024)!
Nearly a quarter of Washington's waste could be diverted from landfills and turned into compost. Compost protects the planet by decreasing methane emissions from landfills, building healthier soil that absorb carbon and conserve water, and improving plant growth. Compost is a climate champion, and you can be one too!
Resources to learn more
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