Composting
Composting reduces greenhouse gases and closes the nitrogen and carbon loops by producing nutrient-rich soil that can be used to grow more food. Composting food and yard waste reduces household waste by up to 30%.
Backyard Composting
What it is, why it helps and how you can try it at home. Learn about about wasting less, fighting climate change and making free organic fertilizer!
Discount $30 Compost Bins for Township residents attending a compost workshop or asynchronous training (one per residence) while supplies last. Questions or can’t make the workshop?
Contact Havcompost@gmail.com.
Hav Twp Curbside Food Waste Pickup
- Free and available to all residents who receive Township trash removal services
- To start, place accepted items in a 5-gallon bucket curbside by 6 AM on Mondays with scheduled brush collections. Brush and food waste will be emptied into the same truck and taken to a commercial composting facility.
- You may use your own 5-gallon buckets, tight-fitting lids, and paper bag liners; they do not need to be Township-provided. Paper bag liners are optional, but encouraged to help keep buckets clean
Curbside Food Waste Composting Services
If you live outside of Haverford Township, in multifamily housing, nonprofit, or business you can hire a compost collecting service
- 5 gallon Container collection every other week on designated day
- Clean container after each pick-up, including fresh container liner
- Automatic 30 day free trial for all subscribers – if not satisfied after that time cancel at no cost.
- Option to request up to 60 pounds of finished compost for free in spring (March – April). Additional compost available for purchase
- SMS & Email reminders
- Biweekly bucket pick up.
- Commercial options available
- Compost for purchase
Neighborhood Compost Bins
Compost together with neighbors or invite neighbors to contribute to your compost bin.
Interested in hosting a neighborhood bin? Training and guidelines that have worked in Marilyn Park will be shared.
Current neighborhoods participating:
Marilyn Park
Vermicomposting
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· Using worms can speed up time to achieve compost for your yard. https://www.epa.gov/recycle/how-create-and-maintain-indoor-worm-composting-bin
Other ways to use food waste
Make Banana Tea for plants- leave banana peel in a cup of water for a few days, water plants with tea and compost used peel.
· Water plants with unsalted pasta water
· Feed plants with used coffee grounds and washed eggshells- place in soil, coffee gives nitrogen and egg shells give calcium to plants.
· Save veggie scraps to make Veggie broth before composting- You can freeze scraps in a container until you have enough to cook
Shred your leaves (and maybe your neighbor's too)
- Create a store of "browns" for your composting year
- Create leaf mulch for your gardens
- Mulch the leaves into your lawn for fertilizer
Leaf mulch, made by creating a layer of about 3" of shredded leaves, acts as a mulch for about a year, then decays to be a great soil amendment (compost). In addition, leaves are free and abundant in the Fall.
Leaves can be shredded by running over them with a mulching mower, using a stand alone leaf shredder, or putting a weed wacker in a can of leaves. Ask your landscaper! They might remove leaves and mulch your gardens for less than it costs to just remove leaves.
which products to buy? (does not constitute an endorsement)
Commercially Compostable Tableware without PFAS
- BPI certified compostable products do not to contain PFAS (cancer causing forever chemicals) that some other compostable products contain. You can search for your desired products to determine if they are BPI certified.
- Only wooden and bamboo utensils (not compostable plastic) are compostable at Philadelphia area composting sites
- All napkins and paper towels without special foil appliques are compostable.
- Local stores: Giant, Acme, Target, and Walmart all carry some products that are BPI certified compostable and some that are just say they are compostable.
- All EcoProducts are BPI compostable.
- EcoSoul plates, bowls, party cups, and compost bags are BPI certified.
- Hefty EcoSave products are BPI compostable
- Dixie Ultra Compostable products and the economy paper plates (old school paper plates) are BPI compostable.
- World Centric products are BPI compostable.
- Open Nature (ACME) compostable hot and cold cups are BPI Compostable
- Most products are only compostable (within a reasonable amount of time) in an industrial composting pile which gets much hotter than a backyard bin.
