Southern Marin residents have to throw food waste into their garbage cans. Curbside composting is not an option, and food scraps ultimately find their way into landfill, which can really add up: According to Joan Irwin, who chairs the Marin Food Recycling Task Force, “Food waste makes up more than 20% of landfill waste."

But all this has changed.

The Redwood Landfill and Recycling Center in Novato recently obtained permits to accept food items and turn them into compost. This led to the Mill Valley City Council recently approving a new composting pickup service for Mill Valley residents.

Mill Valley residents will now be able to mix food waste with yard waste in their green cans, which will now be picked up once a week rather than every other week. This new service is for residences and commercial buildings in Mill Valley and may begin as soon as July. MVRS will begin educating residents on the rules of this food waste composting program through a new website and mailing.

Now that Mill Valley has approved this service, MVRS will be taking this to the cities of Corte Madera, Tiburon and Belvedere in the next couple of weeks for approval. Learn more here.