Composting
Upper Valley Composting Options for Residences and Businesses
Composting Resources
Please check provider websites for collection details, location and hours, keeping in mind that most services require a fee.
Music Mountain Compost
Services the greater Rutland, VT Area along with Central and Southern Vermont. They offer bi-weekly compost pickup for $20.00 a month.
Nordic Waste
Offers Curbside Pick Up services in the following Upper Valley towns: Lebanon, West Lebanon, Hanover, Etna, and Hartford Area (Hartford, West Hartford, White River Jct., Wilder, Quechee), Norwich, Woodstock, and Hartland Vermont. Accepts compostable items other than food such as certified compostable flatware and packaging, food soiled napkins and paper towels, paper cups, paper sleeves, and paper straws, and newsprint.
WeRecycleFood.com
Offers options for either weekly drop-off or residential curbside pickup in Hartland, Norwich, Woodstock and Hartford (Quechee, West Hartford. White River Junction and Wilder), as well as in New Hampshire (Etna, Hanover, Lebanon and West Lebanon). Drop-off customers can swap their 5-gallon food scrap buckets once per week, during normal business hours at the Hanover, Lebanon and White River Junction CO-OP food store locations.
Willow Tree Community Compost
Offers compost drop-off service, as well as weekly and bi-weekly compost pickup for the Vermont towns of Hartford Village, White River Junction and Wilder.
The Sandberg Farm
Located in East Corinth, Vermont, The Sandberg Farm runs a compost pickup service for restaurants and schools. They also sell eggs and finished compost. Visit their facebook page to learn more.
Cat Buxton
Cat Buxton has worked with the towns of Strafford, Thetford and West Fairlee, and Willow Tree and Sunrise Farm to help close the loop locally by connecting those scraps with local farms or composters. She has worked with the Food Cycle Coalition’s On-Farm Compost Project (with Farm to Plate) to help close the loop in Vermont by connecting existing or new small compost sites that can remain under the ANR regulatory threshold for solid waste management.
Watch Cat’s YouTube webinar on Backyard Composting 101
Learn more at www.growmorewasteless.com
A.B.L.E. Waste
Offers drop off of residential organic waste at their Saturday morning “Fast Trash” locations at the Bridgewater Town Garage (8am-12noon) and on Route 12 across from Hartland Fire Station (8am-11am). They also offer commercial pickup.
Casella Waste Systems
Offers curbside food scrap pickup to its residential clients through partnerships with other compost haulers.
Town Transfer Stations
Vermont now requires Town Transfer Stations to have compost barrels to collect residents’ food scraps, including meat and bones. Some charge a fee.
- Hartford VT Transfer Station accepts food scraps from users with a facility permit (windshield sticker) or a day pass.
- Lebanon NH Landfill “Got Food Scraps” Program composts on site to produce the daily landfill cover they need, accepting residential food scraps as well as scraps from the college and hospital cafeterias.
Composting at Home
Greater Upper Valley Solid Waste Management District
Resources for home composting, and can assist with purchasing at-home compost bin.
Vermont Agency of Natural Resources
- Extensive list of options for composting food scraps, resources, regulations and considerations.
- Issues and management options to be aware of when Composting in Bear Country.
