Howard County Executive announces significant expansion of Curbside Food Scraps Pickup Program

Howard County Executive Calvin Ball announced the expansion of the Feed the Green Bin program, the County's free composting service to eligible residents. 

Howard County has provided free food scrap pick-up to residents for 10 years. 

"Our Feed the Green Bin curbside food waste pickup program is a valuable tool in the County's efforts to fight climate change. Since its launch in 2013, the program has diverted over 3,000 tons of food scraps from households. In 2022 alone, we recaptured over 400 tons of organic waste," said Howard County Executive Calvin Ball. "We understand that small actions to reduce our environmental footprint make a big difference. This program empowers Howard County residents to be part of our collective fight for our environment and energy independence." 

The expansion includes 6,330 homes in the following areas: King's Contrivance, Cherry Tree Park, Emerson, Hammond Village, Hunters Creek Farm, Jamestown Landing, North Laurel, Reservoir Overlook, Twin Oaks, Warfields Range, Wellington Farm and Wincopia Farms. 

With this expansion, 59% of all households in the county will now have access to the free Feed the Green Bin program. 

Since its launch in 2013, the program has diverted more than 3,000 tons of food scraps from households. The Feed the Green Bin program includes 37,652 eligible households. Of that number, about 18,000 households, or 48% participate in the program. 

Food scraps are collected by the Department of Public Works from green bins and brought to Alpha Ridge landfill for processing. The waste is blended into organic matter to create compost that is then offered to public and private customers for application on their property.