Compost Program Expands To Include 65K Additional Prince George's Residents

PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, MD — Starting Nov. 7, an estimated 65,000 residents who receive trash services from the county will receive a wheeled green cart and kitchen pail to collect food scraps and yard trim for composting pickup on Mondays. Currently, 22,000 residents participate in the curbside composting program called PGC Composts.

“We are Prince George’s Proud to provide this exciting program to county residents interested in helping combat climate change by diverting their food waste from our landfill. We know that one-third of food waste currently goes into our landfill, and when it decomposes, it creates greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change,” said Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks. “One of our goals is to reduce these gas emissions by providing a program that allows our residents to deal with leftover food in an environmentally responsible way, while also giving residents an additional day for waste collections.”

The county will provide residents with a 32-gallon wheeled green cart, a 2-gallon kitchen pail and educational materials that will assist residents in the proper way to compost. Residents can fill the bin with their food scraps and yard trim and wheel it to the curb by 6 a.m. as directed by the campaign’s slogan "Every Meal. Every Scrap. Every Monday."

PGC Composts accepts everyday food scraps, including fruits and vegetables, dairy products, breads and pasta, meat and bones, pizza boxes, seafood, shellfish like Maryland crabs, and even pumpkins. Items that can’t be composted include leftover grease, plastic, Styrofoam diapers, pet waste and household trash or litter.