FREE Food Scraps Drop-Off Composting Pilot Program
​FREE drop-off composting program from July 8 to end of September.
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Greener Glenview was awarded $2,300 -- thanks to a 2025 Judy Beck Grant -- to set up public food scraps drop-off stations at two locations -- the Glenview Public Library and the Glenview Public Works Department (2498 E Lake Ave West Lake Avenue)..
The goals are to:
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divert food waste from landfills
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educate residents about composting
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demonstrate community support for a composting program
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We need your help to make this a successful pilot program.
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(1) If you plan to drop off food scraps, please REGISTER HERE
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You are welcome to participate in the free drop-off composting program without registering. However, if you let us know you are participating, we can send you updates and better track community participation.
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All participants who register will be invited to pick up 5 gallons of finished compost at Collective Resource's compost gift-back in spring 2026.
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(2) We need volunteers to monitor activity at the two sites.
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We are asking volunteers to visit each location to monitor how full the bins are, whether the bin lids are closed/open, spillage around the bins, contamination inside the bins (non-food scraps items), and presence of any odor three feet from a closed bin.
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You'll then fill out a short online form. If you notice anything out of the ordinary, take a picture and send it to greenerglenview@gmail.com.
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You can monitor one or both sites (they are about five minutes apart) and we anticipate it will take 20 minutes to monitor both sites.
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LINK TO POST-MONITORING REPORT
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After you have visited one or both sites, click the link above to record your findings.
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List of What Can Be Deposited in the Compost Bins
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VIEW THE PROGRAM LAUNCH HELD AT THE GLENVIEW PUBLIC LIBRARY (1:20:15)
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What's BAD about sending food waste to landfills
When we send food waste to the landfill, organic waste is starved of air. As it rots, it gives off methane gas and
contributes to leachate generation. The fumes and leachate pollute the atmosphere and water, and contribute to climate change. In addition, sending organic waste to the landfill
reduces the availability of natural compost, thus degrading soil health and leading to increased use of petroleum-based fertilizers to replenish soils starved of the materials
nature would otherwise have provided.
Too much food waste in landfills
Nineteen million tons of waste is landfilled in Illinois every year. Food waste accounts for as much as 20 percent of that 19 million tons, which is more than any other single waste stream found in landfills. (Source: IL EPA) Locally, this equates to approximately 50,000 tons of residential food scraps sent to landfills each year by the 18 member communities (including Glenview) of the Solid Waste Agency for Cook County (SWANCC).
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About the Pilot Program
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The FREE pilot program will start on July 7 with end date TBD. The program features two public drop-off site with carts available to receive the food scraps.
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Glenview Public Library
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Glenview Public Works facility
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The pilot program accepts more kinds of food waste than the Groot program, adding in meat, shellfish, and bones.
NO pizza boxes, please!
Glenview residents are asked to register for the pilot program to receive information about:
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How to correct any contamination of the carts with materials that cannot be composted
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Options for continuing compost service when the pilot ends
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