Food is the most common material sent to landfills. In a landfill, the food waste breaks down without the presence of oxygen and produces methane. In fact, food waste is responsible for about 58 percent of landfill methane emissions.

The good news? You can help reduce these emissions by changing what you do with your food scraps. 

Instead of throwing food waste in the trash, turn it into compost! AZ Community Science Alliance provides composting participants with a countertop compost container, a 5-gallon bucket composter, a food scale, and educational resources to help you get started. Contact the AZ Community Science Alliance to request materials | Email >

How It Works

Step 1: Gather Your Supplies & Start Composting

• Have ready the countertop compost bin, kitchen scale, data form, compostable scraps, and brown materials.
• Place compostable food scraps in your compost bin. 
• Cover the scraps with brown materials (such as dry leaves, paper, or cardboard).

 Step 2: Collect Daily Data

• At the end of the day, weigh your total compostable scraps using the kitchen scale.
• Add that value to the data form.

 Step 3: Turn the Compost Weekly (four times)  

• Use tongs to mix the materials in the compost bin.

Step 4: Submit Your Data  

• At the end of the month, add your data to the online data submission form

Step 5: Use Your Compost

• Once the process is complete, you can use your compost at home and collect more data, or return the bin to the AZ Community Science Alliance to be loaned out to another participant.

Resources

• Data Entry Form | English Data Form > | Spanish Data Form >
• Data Portal | Coming Soon
• Composting How-To Video | English Video > | Spanish Video >
• Lesson Plan | English Lesson Plan > | Spanish Version Coming Soon
• Lesson Plan Form | English Form > | Spanish Version Coming Soon
• More Composting Options | View the ADEQ Compost Guide >