Refuse and recycling carts at the curb
Streets & Urban Forestry

Compost Food Scraps

Here are your location options for food scraps composting

One this page you will find:

City of Madison Seasonal Farmers' Market Drop-Off

Two bicyclists drop off food scraps at the Eastside Farmers' Market

Madison Eastside Farmers' Market

  • Dates: April 29, 2025 to October 28, 2025
  • Hours: Tuesdays, 4:00pm to 7:00pm
  • Location: McPike Park (202 S. Ingersoll St)
Westside Community Market food scrap drop-off booth

Westside Community Market

  • Dates: May 3, 2025 to November 1, 2025
  • Hours: Saturdays, 7:00am - 12:30pm
  • Location: 505 S. Rosa Rd (University Research Park)
South Madison food scraps drop off tent

South Madison Farmers' Market

  • Dates: June 3, 2025 to October 28, 2025
  • Hours: Tuesdays, 2:00pm to 6:00pm
  • Location: Corner of S. Park St. and W. Wingra Drive (1602 S. Park Street)

Food Scraps We Can Accept at the Farmers' Market Drop-Off Sites

  • Raw fruits, including peelings, cores, etc.
  • Raw vegetables, including stems, husks, etc.
  • Corn cobs
  • Coffee grounds
  • Loose tea leaves
  • Eggshells
  • Uncooked grains & rice

You can also download this guide for your home to help.

Items Not Accepted at the Food Scraps Drop Off Sites

The below foods are banned from the market food scraps drop-off program.

Do not bring these to the market sites.

The below list will be expanded if additional banned items become necessary

  • All meat & bones (including fish and shellfish)
  • Food products cooked with or in fats, oils, and grease
  • Prepared foods
  • Black walnuts
  • Containers of fats, oils, and grease
  • All dairy products
  • Pastas
  • Paper products, including bags & newspaper
  • Compostable plastics, including compostable bags & compostable tableware
  • Produce stickers, twist ties, and other non-compostable material etc.
  • Pet waste & diapers
  • Traditional plastics
  • Metal items
  • Glass items
  •  Trash

What happens to the food scraps?

Scraps collected at the market sites are hauled to the Neighborhood Food Solutions Farm to be composted to help grow vegetables that are sold at the South Madison Farmers' Market.

Jennifer Sandor dumping food scraps at the Neighborhood Food Solutions Farm

2025 Food Scraps Goal

Our goal for 2025 is to receive 40,000 pounds of scraps for composting.  This is the weight of a small herd of bison.

You can join the herd and bring your scraps to the City of Madison food scraps recycling drop-off point near you.

A cartoon bison with a strawberry balanced on its nose.

Track Our Progress

Every week, we will update how many pounds of food scraps we collected, and how close we are getting toward our goal of collecting 40,000 pounds of food scraps.

Collection WeekPounds CollectedOverall Total WeightTotal Number of Bisons Composted
(One Bison = 2,000 Pounds)
Week One, 2 sites (April 29 & May 3)937.6937.60.46 bison
Week Two, 2 sites (May 6 & May 10)1,034.01,971.60.98 bison
Week Three, 2 sites (May 13 & May 17)1,018.32,989.91 and .49 bison
Week Four, 2 sites (May 20 & May 24)1,030.14,020.02 and .01 bison
Week Five, 2 sites (May 27 & May 31)1,266.35,286.32 and .64 bison
Week Six, 3 Sites (June 3 & June 7)1,282.86,569.13 and .28 bison
Week Seven, 3 Sites (June 10 & June 14)1,294.97,864.03 and .93 bison
Week Eight, 3 Sites (June 17 & June 21)1,288.09,152.04 and .58 bison
Week Nine, 3 Sites (June 24 & June 28)1,440.710,592.75 and .30 bison
Week 10; 3 Sites (July 1 & July 5)1,670.512,263.26 and .13 bison
Week 11; 3 Sites (July 8 & July 12)1,769.014,032.27 and .02 bison
Week 12; 3 Sites (July 15 & July 19)1,544.315,576.57 and .79 bison
Week 13; 3 sites (July 22 & July 26)1,832.017,408.58 and .70 bison
Week 14; 3 sites (July 29 & August 2)1,868.719,277.29 and .64 bison
Week 15; 3 sites (August 5 & August 9)1,728.621,005.810 and .50 bison (We're halfway there!)

 

 

Dane County Scrap Stops

The Dane County Department of Waste and Renewables has 3 locations in Madison where you can drop-off food scraps.

These are not operated by the City of Madison. They are a Dane County project. 

To use one of the Dane County locations, you need to register at the Dane County Waste and Renewables website to get a code so you can unlock the carts at the kiosks.

Dane County sites are self-service. They are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week after you register. 

On the Dane County website, you can see a map of all of the Scrap Stop locations, including the ones not in Madison.

Madison's Scrap Stop Locations

  • S. Orchard Street and Vilas Park Drive (Henry Vilas Zoo parking lot)
  • 2930 N. Sherman Avenue (southeast corner of Warner Park parking lot, near Sherman Ave entrance and community baseball diamonds)
  • 7020 Maahic Way (Dane County Clean Sweep)

 

  • Dane County scrap stop at Warner Park
    Image credit: Dane County Waste and Renewables

    Photo is from opening day at the Warner Park Scrap Stop. Staff will not be there when you arrive with scraps. The drop-off is self-serve.

    Image credit: Dane County Waste and Renewables

  • Scrap stop at Henry Vilas Zoon
    Image credit: Dane County Waste and Renewables

    Photo taken at the Henry Vilas Zoo Scrap Stop off S. Orchard Dr. on opening day.  Staff will not be there when you arrive with scraps. The drop-off is self-serve.

    Image credit: Dane County Waste and Renewables

Community Garden Composting

Your community garden may have a a very small program composting option for gardeners or the immediate neighborhood.  

One garden community garden in Madison has a program started (see below) though others may be available.  Contact the garden coordinator near you to see if a community garden composting option is available. 

Prairie Hills Community Garden at Lucy Lincoln Hiestand Park

Contact the Prairie Hills garden coordinator to see how to participate.

Material accepted here would be the same as what can be composted in your own backyard.

Private Composting Companies

These private companies may be able to provide collection to your home or business for a fee:

Commercial entities may also want to consider contacting the company that provides dumpster collection of trash and recycling to see if they can offer food scraps services.

Organix Recycling may also be able to provide some collection services.

Farmers' market drop-off sites are for residents. They can't support the volume generated by restaurants, food manufacturers, and businesses.  

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Food Scraps