Food Scraps Composting Drop Off (2025)

Fairfax County's Solid Waste Management Program (SWMP) accepts food scraps for composting at two County facilities: the I-95 Landfill Complexand theI-66 Transfer Station. These sites are open seven days a week, Monday - Friday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 7 a.m. - 4 p.m. You can drop off your food scraps into one of the bins located in the designated drop-off areas (example shown below).

Food Scraps Composting Drop Off (1)

Food Scraps Composting Drop Off (2)

Due to a successful pilot program last year, the Fairfax County Parks Authority (FCPA) was able to bring composting to all Farmers Market locations! You can drop off food scraps for composting during market hours. Please visit the Fairfax County Farmers Market webpage to find a Farmers Market near you. *

Food Scraps Composting Drop Off (3)

Food Scraps Composting Drop Off (4)

* The Farmers Markets do not accept yard clippings. If you’d like to compost your yard waste, please drop it off at the I-95 Landfill Complex or the I-66 Transfer Station.

How Does It Work?

Food Scraps Composting Drop Off (5)

Food Scraps Composting Drop Off (6)

Food Scraps Composting Drop Off (7)

While you’re cooking dinner, scrape the trimmings from your vegetables or pieces of meat into your countertop container. This could be potato peels, bones, or egg shells. If you had coffee or tea, the grounds or the tea bag can go in too. After dinner, you can scrape whatever’s left on you plate into the container. You may choose to keep your food waste in your fridge or freezer before you’re ready to take it to the drop-off site. Or you may choose to use a sealed countertop container. Do whatever works for you.

When you’ve accumulated a good amount of food waste, it’s time to drop it off at the location that’s most convenient for you. If you lined the bucket with a compostable liner, you can throw that in too. If you used a regular plastic bag, you’ll need to empty the food scraps into the container and throw away the plastic bag separately. Rinse the bucket out when you get home. And pat yourself on the back – you just made a difference.

Please repurpose reusable, or compostable containers, bags, boxes, or bins for the purpose of transporting your food scraps to the drop-off sites. For more information, or general inquiries regarding this program, contact the Outreach Team at 703-324-5230.

The graphic below should tell you everything you need to know about what you can, and cannot, place into the food waste bins. It is important to keep contaminants like plastic bags, pet waste, and wrappers out of the bin.

Composting Organic Waste

Composting is nature’s way of recycling. It is the controlled breakdown of yard waste, food scraps, and other organic material. Composting is the way that nature recycles. In nature, when a leaf falls to the forest floor, it is consumed and digested by a host of creatures, from worms and insects to microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi.

Learn More

Food Scraps Composting Drop Off (8)

Compost Yes

  • Nuts
  • Breads, Cereal, Rice and Pasta
  • Meat, Seafood Bones
  • Cheese and Dairy
  • Salad
  • Vegetables
  • Flowers
  • Tea Bags and Loose Tea
  • Egg Shells
  • Fruit
  • Compostable Bags
  • Coffee Grounds
  • Uncoated Paper Plates
  • Uncoated Paper Bags
  • Paper towels and Napkins (Kitchen Only)

Compost No

  • Plastic Bags or Wrappers
  • Foil
  • Plastic Coated Cardboard
  • Oil or Grease
  • Styrofoam™

A. You can drop off your compost at all ten Fairfax County Park Authority run Farmers Markets. Please visit the Farmers Market webpage for locations and hours.

Food scrap composting will be available during regular market hours. Please do not drop off food scraps before or after the regular market hours.

There are two locations at the Fairfax County Solid Waste Management facilities

The I-66 Transfer Stationlocated at4618 West Ox Road, Fairfax, VA, 22030

The I-95 Landfill Complexlocated at9850 Furnace Road, Lorton, VA, 22079

Hours of operation - OPEN 7 Days a week

  • Monday - Friday 7 a.m. - 5 p.m.
  • Saturday & Sunday 7 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Composting food waste could potentially reduce the amount of waste we produce by as much as 33% (EPA). Composting diverts our food scraps from landfills and incinerators. Composting is a sustainable alternative that puts the nutrients from our food scraps back into the earth and, eventually, our food system by using the finished compost as a fertilizer for local farms. Composting is the final step to completing a truly sustainable food cycle system.

Compost adds nutrients and organic matter back into soil, which benefits agriculture, reduces our reliance on synthetic fertilizers, diverts methane-producing organic materials, and improves soil’s water retention. Food scrap composting is just one way to reduce waste. Americans waste so much food every day – the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that between 30 - 40 percentof the food produced in the United States is never eaten.

You can store food waste in a closed container on your counter or in your fridge or freezer. You can use something like an old coffee container, a laundry pod container (they have the screw-on lids) or a compost caddy that is specially designed to hold food waste.

You can drop off your compost at two County facilities: the I-95 Landfill Complex and the I-66 Transfer Station, as well as all ten Farmers Markets. Please visit the Farmers Market webpage for locations and hours.

Compost drop-off at the county facilities is available during facility hours:

  • Monday – Friday 7 a.m. – 5 p.m.
  • Saturday & Sunday 7 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Compost drop-off at the Farmers Markets is available during Farmers Market hours. Visit the Farmers Market webpage for locations and hours.

You can buy certified compostable bags at grocery and home improvement stores in your area. You can also buy bags through major online retailers. Can’t find them in your neighborhood? Ask your local store to start carrying them. You can also make a bin liner from newspaper – watch this video!

If you choose to line your collection container, there are many options that do not require a special product. Collect scraps in newspaper and discard together or use a regular plastic bag to empty scraps into the green bin, then throw away the bag. You can also make a bin liner from newspaper – watch this video!

Empty and wash the kitchen container regularly. Lining the container with compostable bags or other material will make cleaning up easier. Some residents also store food scraps in bags or containers inside the freezer until they drop it off. If storing food waste outside, make sure the container latched and in a shaded area, especially during warm weather. Alternate layers of food scraps with shredded paper or newspaper to absorb moisture and odors.

It will if the container is accessible. Make sure the container you put outside has a tight-fitting lid.

All food items are accepted, including meat, dairy, and leftovers. Food-soiled paper like tea bags, coffee filters, napkins, and paper plates are also acceptable.

Yes! Meat, bones, and dairy are all accepted. The composting facilities and Farmers Markets are designed to compost these materials, as well as paper and certified compostable plastic liners.

The waste is taken to a local composting facility. Finished compost is used for landscaping and agriculture.

It is always better to have food consumed by people or animals. This program is intended to divert food that would otherwise go into the trash and turn it into a useful product. We encourage the support of local food banks, especially for dry goods. Here are some resources for food donation.

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Food Scraps Composting Drop Off (2025)

FAQs

Can you compost with just food scraps? ›

You can compost at home using food scraps from your kitchen and dry leaves and woody material from your yard.

How long do food scraps take to decompose in soil? ›

Buried food scraps may take from two to six months to decompose, depending on soil temperature, moisture, worm population and what is buried. In good garden soil, leafy greens will break down in weeks while citrus peels may persist for several months.

How do you get rid of food scraps without composting? ›

You can take your food scraps and put them to use in your garden without composting. That's right – you can take the cuttings, peels and roots left behind on your cutting board and deposit them directly into the soil of your garden.

What is the trick to make a good compost in short time? ›

While you're upping the quantity of brown carbon materials in your composter, make sure you shred everything. Smaller materials break down faster than larger ones, and making sure everything is shredded is also a great way to create pockets of air within the pile to help aerate and speed up the composting process.

Is it better to compost in the sun or shade? ›

Composting works in sun or shade Piles in sunny spots will decompose quicker but also dry out faster and may need supplemental watering during hot dry weather. Those located in a shadier spot will stay moist longer but decompose slower. In either case, make sure the soil below the pile is well-drained.

Can I put moldy fruit in my compost? ›

You can add moldy food (vegetables and fruits only) to a backyard composting bin anytime. Mold cells are just one of the many different types of microorganisms that take care of decomposition and are fine in a backyard bin. If you're using a worm bin, you have to be a bit more careful.

What happens if you don't stir compost? ›

Of these three, aeration is controlled by turning the composting organic material. Without proper aeration, microbial activity will be limited since most of microorganisms participating in decomposition are aerobic (oxygen loving). With limited microbial activity, composting would be slow.

What food can you not compost? ›

Composting Don'ts

Don't add fish, meat, dairy products, bones, baked goods, fatty foods or grease to your compost pile. These food scraps do not easily decompose and may attract animals. Don't use diseased plants or plants that are toxic to other plants.

What are the drawbacks of composting? ›

Composting can attract unwanted pests and wildlife, which can create public health risks and damage property. Plus, improperly managed compost piles can emit strong odors, which can create problems for nearby residents and businesses.

How often should I turn my compost? ›

This turning process ensures that oxygen levels do not drop low enough to kill the good organisms and grow pathogens. NOP guidelines require compost to be turned a minimum of five times within a 15-day period, during which time the temperature must be maintained between 131- and 170-degrees F.

How do I get my compost to decompose faster? ›

Make sure you add enough carbon. Having the right carbon to nitrogen (C:N) ratio is essential for composting faster. Carbon rich materials like leaf clippings, twigs, sawdust, and paper, are considered brown materials. Adding more brown material helps add bulk and also allows air to better get into your pile.

What kitchen scraps Cannot be composted? ›

So avoid these for your compost:
  • Meat and bones.
  • Fish.
  • Dairy.
  • Poultry scraps.
  • Fats and oils.
  • Ash or charcoal.
  • Garden trimmings with pesticides.
  • Pet waste.

Can you compost straight into the soil? ›

The method of direct compost is very simple: It's a matter of taking food scraps to the garden, digging a hole, filling it with the food waste, and covering it back up.

Can you compost banana peels? ›

Banana peels are a great ingredient for your compost or worm farm, adding lots of nutrients to the organic recycling process. Council is making purchasing your organic recycling system easier with our compost rebate program.

What is the easiest compost method? ›

One of the simplest methods is to move all of the contents to one side of the bin, adding fresh, moistened bedding material and fresh food waste to the empty side. The worms will migrate over to the newer bedding over a period of several weeks, and you can harvest the finished side—worm-free.

What takes the longest to compost? ›

Glass bottle

While you might have thought that plastic was the most resistant material to biodegradation, it's in fact glass. A glass bottle could take up to 1,000,000 years to properly biodegrade. Here's some perspective: by that time, the Great Pyramid of Giza will have also eroded.

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