Before I discuss composting, I must briefly address what is perhaps the root of the problem – food waste. Chicagoans waste approximately 55 million pounds of food each month. This is particularly jarring because 1 in 9 Illinoisans (and 1 in 8 children) are food insecure. A 30% reduction in food waste, which should be easy to do, could feed all of America’s hungry. Food waste is wasteful at every stage of the food production, and then a significant portion is thrown into the trash while our fellow citizens go hungry. It is also a waste of money.

In Illinois, nearly 3 million tons of food waste is sent to landfills each year – more than any other single waste stream found in landfills. When food waste decomposes in these anaerobic conditions (without oxygen), it produces methane, a powerful greenhouse gas that is 25 times more harmful than carbon dioxide. Greenhouse gases trap radiation in the Earth’s atmosphere, which gradually raises the planet’s average temperature. Composting can divert much of this food waste from landfills and reduce methane production by providing aerobic (with oxygen) conditions for decomposition where methane-producing microbes are not present. In the presence of oxygen and water, microbes, such as bacteria and fungi, use the carbon for energy and decompose the organic waste. This produces heat, which kills pathogens and seeds, and the remaining carbon is stable “humus” (commonly called mulch) that is weed-free and safe to use for agriculture, landscaping, gardening or other purposes. So-called “clean” composting can reduce water pollution, repair topsoil, naturally fertilize crops without harmful pesticides, and even sequester carbon from the atmosphere, among other benefits. Composting might be the most impactful way to reduce your carbon emissions and, I will tell you, we rarely have to take out the trash (optimal in this frigid weather).

Unfortunately, the City of Chicago does not offer composting services. This is a great topic to write to your alderperson about, and one that requires far greater recognition than it currently has. Chicagoans are apparently barely recycling, not to mention composting (also, according to WBEZ, Waste Management is notorious for rejecting recycling bins as contaminated and having these bins send to the landfills they may own, potentially profiting twice). Monica Eng at WBEZ provides a great explanation for why Chicago does not provide composting and what it would take for it to do so. Yard waste, however, is banned from landfills in Illinois – you can use 311 to easily schedule a yard waste pickup, which in my experience is picked up speedily. However, if a pickup is not scheduled then the dump truck will take it away as they are supposed to pick up anything in the alleys.

Alas, since the city does not offer municipal composting, we’re on our own here. Unfortunately, this is one example of sustainability and environmentalism not exactly equitable – this “lifestyle” requires resources in the forms of education, time, money, and space.

If you have an outdoor space, composting outside is a great option – for example, we have a little pile outside of our back door. However, compost scraps can be fodder for rats, and also cannot effectively break down many of the materials that a commercial composting facility can (such as paper, animal products, and sturdier biodegradable materials).

Enter composting services, which are making composting easier than ever (prior to 2015, most composting services were effectively prohibited and compost collection was severely restricted – the ordinance has since been amended to facilitate compost pick-up and drop-off). Around Chicago, there is a growing number of companies offering pickup and drop-off composting.

• Blockbins: Blockbins is the most affordable option, and the one I use personally. For $10 per month, you are given an access code to the community bin closest to you which you share with several neighbors. You can also request your own bin, which you will sponsor and pay slightly more for until more people subscribe. However, there is currently a significant backlog for bin requests (I’ve been on the list for well over a year now). But there are plenty of bins citywide so chances are there is one no more than a few blocks away!
• Dill Pickle Co-Op: Dill Pickle Co-Op provides a compost drop-off service. For a $19.99 deposit, you can take home a compost bucket. Pay $9.99 ($5.99 for co-op members) every time you drop off the bucket and are given a clean one.
• Green City Market: Partnered with Healthy Soil Compost, for $3, shoppers can drop off their own container or bag of organic waste at the Info Booth at the Lincoln Park, West Loop, and Indoor markets.
• Greendirt Compost: Greendirt provides a bin and weekly collection. Your scraps are vermicomposted (with worms), and Greendirt will give you a bag of worm castings (essentially mulch) each month for your plants! Plans start at $19.99/month with savings for longer subscriptions.
• Healthy Soil Compost: Healthy Soil Compost provides residential and commercial compost pickup services. Healthy Soil also provides a bucket which you fill with compost and can have retrieved and replaced monthly ($20), twice a month ($30), or weekly ($40). You can also purchase mulch!
• Collective Resource Compost: Collective Resource Compost is a woman-owned, Evanston-based compost pickup service. Collective Resource also provides a 5-gallon bucket which you fill with compost and can have retrieved and replaced monthly ($20.50), twice a month ($15.50), or weekly ($10.50). Collective Resource also operates a 32-gallon “Neighbor Totes” community composting program similar to that of Blockbins.
• The Urban Canopy: The Urban Canopy offers residential and commercial compost pickup as part of its “Compost Club.” They provide a 5-gallon bucket which you fill with compost and can have retrieved and replaced monthly ($15/month), twice a month ($25/month), or weekly ($35/month). Additionally, for every 10 pickups members are given a $5 voucher to Plant Shop Chicago or City Grange Garden Center, a $5 voucher to a local farmers market, or a $5 voucher to a restaurant that is part of the Compost Club. The Urban Canopy also provides commercial and community composting, beginning in March 2021.
• WasteNot Compost: You might see WasteNot’s nifty electric truck scooting around the city doing compost pickups. WasteNot provides a bucket, which you fill up and leave outside for WasteNot to pick up and replace with a clean bucket. Treehugger (https://www.treehugger.com/best-composting-services-5074856) deemed WasteNot one of its best composting services in the country in 2020! WasteNot provides residential, multi-unit, and commercial services. WasteNot provides weekly ($10/pickup) and biweekly ($12/pickup) service.

Interested in supporting businesses that compost? Check out the Illinois Food Scrap Coalition (IFSC)’s list of “We Compost” partners.

Are you composting, or are you eager to start? Share your experiences or any questions below!