Beyond the table, there’s a place where food lives again.

A place free of hashtags and filters, or blog posts and updates. Where leftovers flourish and crumbs are reborn. And while not picturesque, it nourishes the city we love so it’s always postcard perfect. It keeps our green spaces beautiful, our soil rich, and neighborhoods smiling.

It’s the green bin, and we wouldn’t be SF without it.

SF facts about compost

30%
30% of compostable waste in SF is incorrectly placed into the landfill bin.
750 tons
SF composts close to 750 tons of food scraps and yard trimmings each day.
175,000
With over 175,000 green bins available throughout SF, it's never been easier to compost.

Foodies Love to Share

Grapefruit and shredded crab on a cutting board
Grapefruit & Seafood Ceviche
Figs and pears that have been cut open are laying on a cutting board
Cornmeal Crepes with Figs & pears
Grilled-Chinese-Sweet-and-Sour-Kebabs
Grilled Chinese Sweet and Sour Kebabs
Tips: Composting 101
  1. Compost all food scraps and spoiled leftovers.
  2. Compost all shells from seafood and nuts.
  3. Compost all meat bones.
  4. Compost oily pizza boxes and paper takeout containers
  5. Compost coffee grounds and the paper filters used for brewing.
  6. Always check plastic containers and plastic bags to see if they are labeled compostable. 
  7. Make sure to compost used paper napkins and paper towels.
  8. Always empty moldy food from its container into the green bin. 
  9. If it was once alive (like plants, animals, or trees) it can go into the green bin. 
  10. Compost chopsticks, toothpicks, coffee stirrers, and all clean (untreated) wood. 

Green bin or Blue bin?

Do you ever have trouble deciding what item should go where? Use these tips to find what is compostable, recyclable or what should go in the black bin.

  • Aluminum Wrapper on Food (such as burritos) – crumple it and put it in the blue bin
  • Paper Cups and Milk Cartons – if clean, but them in the blue bin, if soiled put them in the green bin
  • Plastic Bags (unless clearly labeled Certified Compostable) – reuse them or black bin
  • Pet Waste and Cat Litter – black bin
  • Charcoal Ash – black bin
  • Used Sanitary Products (diapers, tampons, etc.) – black bin
  • Cigarette Butts – black bin
  • Any Plastic Food Container (even if it has food in it) – empty the food into the green bin and recycle the hard plastic container