Can be cooked or raw.

No produce stickers, twisty ties, rubber bands, etc. 

Can be cooked or raw. Include bones and skin. Small bones only.

Empty all food from containers or packaging before putting in the food waste drop-off. 

Can be cooked or raw.

Empty all food from containers or packaging before putting in the food waste drop-off. 

Food like pizza, chicken nuggets, hot dogs, hamburgers, cupcakes, cookies, etc. 

Empty all food from containers or packaging before putting in the food waste drop-off. 

Can be cooked or raw.

Empty all food from containers or packaging before putting in the food waste drop-off. 

Can be cooked or raw.

Empty all food from containers or packaging before putting in the food waste drop-off. 

No staples or plastic tea bags. 

Paper products are items like napkins, tissues, paper towels, and paper plates. 

No items with plastic coating. If the item can tear as easily as paper, then it does not have a plastic coating. 

Paper to-go containers are items like pizza boxes, drink holders, drinking trays, etc. 

No items with plastic coating. If the item can tear as easily as paper, then it does not have a plastic coating. 

No compostable plastics- bags, cups, utensils, etc. Even if they are BPI Certified.

Compostable plastics are available as an alternative to plastics, but not all are made the same. It is difficult to distinguish between compostable plastics and “regular plastics” and even certified compostable materials do not break down in all types of composting facilities.

The commercial compost facility where the food waste will be hauled to states, “Compostable plastics pose a challenge to our unique composting process. We have chosen to phase them out in order to achieve a higher quality in the finished compost.”

Remove all produce stickers, twisty ties, staples, rubber bands, etc. 

Empty all food from containers or packaging before putting in the food waste drop-off. 

Learn about Recycling Right in Chatham County. 

Pet waste cannot be accepted in the food waste drop-off.  It should be disposed of along with regular trash.

When bringing it to the Collection Centers let the attendant know about the kitty litter. The attendant may direct it to either the compactor or bulky bin depending on how full the compactor is as kitty litter makes a mess if it is at the end of the compactor.

No ash, coal, or charcoal. 

Since there is a fire hazard, ashes CANNOT be taken to the Collection Centers, Main Facility, or Household Hazardous Waste events. Even after ashes have been sitting for days and weeks, they can cause a fire upon compaction.

Ashes may be accepted at a transfer station or landfill but residents should call ahead as they have may specific rules. There will be a charge based on weight.

While yard waste is organic material, the Food Waste Drop-off program uses roll carts to collect the compostable materials. Including yard waste and plants would full up all the carts, leaving no room for food waste.

Yard waste is not accepted at the Collection Centers because in North Carolina it is banned from disposal in landfills. Yard waste must go to the Main Facility.

Large amounts of fats, oils, and greases should not go in the food waste drop-off program. 

Cooking oil is accepted for recycling at the Bonlee, Cole Park, Pittsboro, and Siler City Collection Centers and the Main Facility.

Compostable plastics are a category of items that are made from plant-based materials and meant to be an alternative to plastics, like cups, bags, utensils, etc. These materials should be certified compostable by the BPI certification program, meaning tests have proven that they will compost in a composting facility. However, there are a lot of materials that are labeled as compostable, biodegradable, or with similar language that have not been certified. This causes too much confusion between the accepted and unaccepted ones. Plus, compostable plastics do not behave the same in all types of composting facilities.

As we start this food waste drop-off pilot program, we want to make it as easy as possible for residents to understand what is and is not accepted.

Additionally, the commercial compost facility that is the end-point of our materials is starting to phase out compostable plastics to achieve a higher quality of finished compost.

While yard waste is organic material, the food waste drop-off program uses roll carts to collect the compostable materials. Including yard waste and plants would full up all the carts, leaving no room for food waste.

Yard waste is not accepted at the Collection Centers because in North Carolina it is banned from disposal in landfills. Yard waste must go to the Main Facility.

Bugs are a natural occurrence of food waste breaking down. To avoid them at home, store food waste in bags or containers in the freezer. Freezing pauses the decomposition process which will restart when the food waste is thawed out. It doesn’t have any impact on the composting process but avoids bugs at home.

Be sure to empty the food waste from the container when putting it in the food waste drop-off program.