See our recent blog post for more info on compostable products and packaging

Why Compost?

Composting is an easy way to reduce the amount of trash we send to landfills and incinerators. It’s another form of recycling. When you compost your food and organic waste, it gets broken down into a finished product that can be added back to garden beds or agricultural fields. Finished compost adds nutrients and organic matter to soil, which in turn helps plants grow. This is part of a circular economy, where the things we use are produced, consumed, and recycled back into new resources. Composting is also very easy to do!

Residents and business owners in Fairfax County have four choices for composting:

  1. Home composting system – mix your food waste with lawn waste and create your own compost to spread on your garden beds, using a bin or compost container.
  2. Contract with a compost hauler – a service will pick up your compostable items curbside and take them to a commercial composting facility.
  3. Drop off compost items at a County facility – you can bring your compostables to the I-66 Transfer Station or the I-95 Landfill Complex.
  4. Drop off compost items at a County farmers market.
I-66 Transfer Station composting drop-off area
I-66 Transfer Station Composting drop-off area. Photo: Clean Fairfax

What can I compost?

If you are dropping off at a County facility or using a commercial hauler, you can include all kinds of food waste (veggies, cooked food, meat, bones), uncoated paper products, and compostable bags/cutlery.

For home composters, you probably don’t want to include compostable kitchenware, paper plates, or compostable bags, which require high temperatures and specific conditions to break down. Meat and bones can also sometimes attract pests, so keep an eye on your bin if you try those items out. Remember to mix in lots of dead leaves, shredded paper or cardboard, or other “brown” items with all of your food waste for a balanced compost.

Visit Fairfax County’s Composting web page for more information about composting options.

Here are the permitted food waste haulers in Fairfax County: