Our mission is to empower local residents to take collective action on the issue of food waste.

Compost NOW (New Orleans Waste) began with a simple idea: provide free, weekly food waste drop-off sites for those interested in keeping their food waste from the landfill but who didn't have the time, interest or space to compost in their backyard. We then partner with local farms who do the rest!

In 2017, Compost NOW began at two New Orleans Public Library sites, one day a week. By 2020, we expanded to nearly 50 collections each month! From January through March of this year, we were at ten library sites, six days a week, plus we partnered with Tulane Law School to host a site as well. 

During COVID-19 we are still open and collecting food scraps every day, on both the East Bank and the West Bank of New Orleans. We have had to reduce our number of sites (both NOPL and Tulane are closed) but now have 16 collections each week, most with expanded hours, in an attempt to make it easier for participants to combine with an essential trip to the supermarket, pharmacy or hardware store.

Event details are on facebook.com/CompostNewOrleansWaste and we update our page daily.

Collectively, we have diverted over 300,000 pounds of food waste waste from the landfill so far. We have also hosted two compost conferences, featuring dozens of local organizations and individuals who are committed to food security, local farmings, recycling, composting and healthy soils.

We have dozens of volunteers who host the collections, to answer questions and ensure the bins are not contaminated. We have partnered with over half a dozen local farms who turn the scraps into nutrient-rich compost or feed their farm animals.

We provide this free service to hundreds of families each week and are truly building a community of composters in New Orleans. We would like to see the City of New Orleans expand their