Yard Waste & Organics Program Available to City Residents

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Yard Waste & Organics Program Available to City Residents

Yard Waste & Organics Program Available to City Residents

Organics_Image

Columbia Heights residents are eligible to compost organics (food scraps and food-soiled paper) from their home in a dual-purpose cart for yard and food waste.

The service is $2.52 per month, charged to your quarterly City utility bill. Email Public Works at publicworks@columbiaheightsmn.gov to order a compost cart. Yard waste and organics are collected by the City weekly and then brought to a facility to make compost.

Currently, the City has more than 1,360 compost carts on the street covering 21% of refuse-serviced properties.  

Easy to Collect Around the House
Residents who order a compost cart will also receive a free kitchen starter kit with bags for organics disposal. Apartment and condo buildings can receive organics starter kits for tenants, too. (Ask your building owner or property manager to contact the City for carts.)

Compostable Items

All Food

  • Bread & cereal
  • Dairy products
  • Eggs & egg shells
  • Fruit & vegetables
  • Meat, fish & bones
  • Nuts & shells
  • Pasta, beans & rice

Food-Soiled Paper

  • Coffee grounds & filters
  • Facial tissues
  • Napkins & paper towels
  • Paper egg cartons
  • Pizza delivery boxes
  • Tea bags


Household Items

  • Cotton balls without chemicals
  • Hair & nail clippings
  • Houseplant & flower trimmings
  • Wooden items such as chopsticks, popsicle sticks & toothpicks

Certified Compostable Products

  • Compostable cups, plates, bowls, utensils & containers
  • Must have the BPI logo (see below), certifying products are compostable
BPI_LOGO_US SAMPLE -Two-Color-01

Eligible Yard Waste Items
Yard waste consisting of leaves, grass clippings, acorns, garden waste, pine cones, needles, soft-bodied green plants, weeds, and other non-woody yard waste can be mixed together for collection.

Columbia Heights High School Key Club Compost Fundraiser
Organic waste is turned into compost which the Key Club places in bags and sells to fund their activities. You can purchase a 20-lb bag for $3.

All sales go to the Columbia Heights High School Key Club to help with scholarships for members.

Bags of compost are on sale every Saturday from 9 am–1 pm (except holiday weekends) at the Columbia Heights Recycling Center, 3801 Madison Street, Columbia Heights.

Helpful Links
An organics guide created by Anoka County can be found here.

You can also view an organics FAQ page here.

Email Public Works at publicworks@columbiaheightsmn.gov to order your compost cart.

7-30-2020


7-30-2020