Salem & Keizer Compost! Food Waste Composting Program
Same Cart, New Name! - ALL food waste goes in!
In Salem, Keizer and their Urban Growth Boundaries within Marion County, the Yard Debris Cart is now called the Mixed Organics Cart.
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Do Not put in the Mixed Organics Cart:
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Animal Waste
Free Kitchen Compost Collector pails (mini-bins) are being provided on a first-come, first serve basis to all Salem and Salem Urban Growth Boundary residents courtesy of Marion County Public Works – Environmental Services. Call Marion County Public Works to arrange pick-up of your free pail.
These pails can be used to collect scraps in your kitchen to transfer to the mixed organics cart as needed.
Once all the pails have been given away, no more will be available for free, but the Fresh Start Market carries two styles for purchase at below retail cost year-round.
FAQs
The corrugated cardboard boxes are allowable, not the frozen food boxes.
Can residents add food-waste to yard debris if they take it to the transfer station?
No, it’s still yard debris only at Salem Keizer Transfer Station. That material is dumped directly onto the ground at the Station, and there is no permit to handle the added food waste with that application.
There are several packaging items that have “compostable packaging” printed onto the package. You may compost those items in your backyard compost bin. Please do not add any packaging or other paper products (other than food-soiled paper towels/napkins and paper bags to store food) to yard debris. The mixed organics are delivered in such large quantities, it’s impossible to determine if what staff is seeing is actually compostable or not.
Yes. Here is what you can do if concerned about wet/dripping food-waste:
Do Salem Polk County residents qualify for a free kitchen compost collector pail?
Sorry, only Marion County residents qualify. The Fresh Start Market carries two styles of pails that can be purchase by anyone at any time.
What are kitchen compost collector pails used for?
You can scrape dinner plates and place other food scraps into the pail, then dump into mixed organics roll-cart on collection day.
Where does the food waste go?
It is taken to the Pacific Region Composting facility owned by Allied Waste near Camp Adair. Their specially designed facility has a permit from DEQ to handle all types of food waste. It is composted on a concrete pad in tarp-covered “windrows” laid down over pipes to circulate air and filter odors from it. The finished compost is sold as a finished product.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Call your garbage/recycling hauler or the Recycling Hotline at (503) 390-4000.