Close The Loop Compost Pickup

St Albans Home Pickup

Currently, NWSWD operates a 30+ stop commercial compost pick-up route for customers like schools, restaurants, healthcare facilities, and grocery stores. This service delivers over 30 tons of food waste monthly for composting to Hudak Farm on Route 7.

Business/institutional compost pick-up is somewhat well established in Vermont. Home compost pick-up is still getting started. Seeing a need, NWSWD brought its pick-up experience to St. Albans residents in January 2017. The service is running smoothly and gaining customers all the time.

Our route was featured on Vermont Public Radio.

And a story from the Messenger.

How It Works

This route is open to residents of St. Albans City and some residents of St. Albans Town. Town residents contact 524.5986 or info@nwswd.org to see if you are in our service area.

  • Each customer gets a 5 gallon bucket with a lid. Keep the bucket in the garage or outside, just like your curbside wheeled trash can. Households bigger than 4 people sometimes require a second bucket.
  • Each customer needs a container for food waste in their kitchen. An old plastic container with a lid works great (e.g. an old Tupperware container or coffee can). When this container gets full, dump it into the 5 gallon bucket.
  • All food waste can go in. We give you a list of what goes in and what stays out. No non-food with one exception: if desired, participants may use a paper grocery bag as a liner in their bucket. This will help keep your bucket clean.
  • NWSWD comes by weekly to dump your bucket (including the paper grocery bag). They’ll leave the bucket for you. You’ll be responsible for rinsing it, though it’s not overly necessary.
  • NWSWD charges $15/month for this service. The monthly charge for anyone requiring 2 curbside buckets (households larger than 4 people or anyone wanting a 2nd bucket) will be $22.50.

Commercial Pickup

Food scrap separation is the law for every business and institution in Vermont. Join an ever-growing group of organizations who use our food scrap pick-up service for worry-free food scrap management.

Contact Shannon Plant at splant@nwswd.org or (802) 524-5986 for details.

How It Works

1 | Totes

  • We provide totes.
  • We pick up weekly.
  • Full totes are swapped out with clean ones.
  • We supply sawdust for layering on top of food scraps (to ass carbon and help neutralize odors)

2 | Cost

  • Totes are 32 gallons, hold approximately 140 lbs.
  • For accounts located in Highgate, Swanton, St. Albans, Georgia, Sheldon, Fairfield—first tote is $17. For accounts in all other areas–first tote is $20. Each tote thereafter is $15.
  • We reserve the right to raise rates if needed due to operational costs/market factors.

3 | Set-Up

  • We provide training for staff/students as well as signage.
  • We assist with system setup and troubleshooting.
  • Totes can be used in kitchens (you’ll be able to use smaller trash cans as a result of composting) or we provide 5 gallon buckets for a fee.

4 | Contamination

  • You agree to put in only acceptable materials (we provide a list).
  • You will be notified of small amounts of contamination.
  • In case of large amounts of contamination—tote may be rejected, left for customer to dispose of.
  • We seek to help solve contamination issues, but can charge for repeated contamination.

5 | Garbage

  • You will see a reduction in trash tonnage.
  • You can likely renegotiate your trash contract.
  • You will likely need a smaller dumpster or less frequent pickup (garbage odors will be reduced).