There are hundreds of places that practice and teach composting.The list grows longer daily. Here is a partial list of those centers. PLEASE post your local composting center's information in the comments section of this blog.
Alabama:
Alaska:
Arizona:
PHOENIX: Sources for Composters in Maricopa County
| Location | Information |
City of Phoenix
Buckeye Landfill
(602) 262-6598 Office
| You can purchase old trash containers with holes cut into them to make composters for $5.00. They are open on Saturday unitl 4:00 p.m. Take I-10 to 19th Avenue, South on 19th Avenue to Lower Buckeye Road, West on Lower Buckeye Road to 27th Avenue, then South to the Landfill. You do not have to be a resident of Phoenix to buy containers. |
Town of Gilbert
Sanitation Department
(602) 503-6437 | The town offers free backyard composters to residents, and will even deliver. These are recycled trash containers that have the bottoms and wheels removed, and holes drilled in the sides and top. |
City of Tempe
(602) 350-8265
| Free to residents. Composters have lids, bottoms have giant holes. Tempe will deliver.
|
City of Mesa
(602) 644-2222 | Available to residents for $5.00. Should you ever return the composter, they will credit your account. |
City of Chandler
(602) 786-2863 | Free to residents. Chandler will deliver.
|
Check with your local municipal recycling or solid waste department to see if they offer composting containers.
TUCSON: Tucson Botanical Garden at Alvernon Way and Grant Road. Every Wednesday, the Gardeners of Tucson host an informative plant clinic. The Tucson Organic Gardeners have helped to create the Home Compost Demonstration Site. There are 60-70 classes and workshops offered annually on a variety of horticultural and desert environmental concerns.
California:
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Works operates 11 Learning Centers throughout the County. They are equipped with educational and demonstration materials designed for our Smart Gardening workshops. Each has various backyard and worm composting bins, and drought tolerant plants. Some of the centers also include grass recycling demonstration areas to show how easy and beneficial grass recycling can be.
1. Santa Clarita
Castaic Lake Water Agency
27234 Bouquet Canyon Rd
[photo] [map]
2. Calabasas
Gates Canyon Park
25801 Thousand Oaks Bl
[photo] [map]
3. Arcadia
L.A. County Arboretum
301 N Baldwin Av
[photo] [map] [$8 fee]
4. Covina
Charter Oak Park
20261 Covina Bl
[photo] [map]
5. Rowland Heights
Peter F. Schabarum Park
17250 E Colima Rd
[photo] [map] [$6 fee]
6. Whittier
Sorensen Park
11419 Rosehedge Dr
[photo] [map]
|  |
7. Monterey Park
Garvey Ranch Park
781 S Orange Av
[photo] [map]
| 8. La Mirada
Community Gardens
13518 Biola Av
[photo] [map] | 9. Huntington Park
Closed. |
10. Long Beach
Birney Elementary School
710 W Spring St
[photo] [map] | 11. Torrance
Columbia Park
18721 Prairie Av
[photo] [map] | 12. Palos Verdes
South Coast Botanic Gardens
26300 Crenshaw Bl
[photo] [map] [$8 fee] |
ALAMEDA COUNTY: at Shannon Park in Dublin, maintained by Alameda County. Classes in basic composting and vermi-composting offered by the Alameda County Waste Management Authority, in the cities of Oakland, Union City, Dublin, and Livermore (please telephone the Rotline at 510-635-6275 for more information).
CALABASAS: Home Garden Learning Center at Gates Canyon, 25801 Thousand Oaks Boulevard, maintained by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works. Compost demo site open during workshops and scheduled events only. (phone 1-888-CLEAN-LA for more information, or visit http://www.smartgardening.com .)
CARSON: Home Garden Learning Center at Victoria Park, 419 East 192 St., maintained by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works. Compost demo site open during workshops and scheduled events only. (phone 1-888-CLEAN-LA for more information, or visit http://www.smartgardening.com .)
COVINA: Backyard Composting Center at Charter Oak Park, 20261 E. Covina Boulevard, maintained by the Los Angeles County Department Quail Botanical Gardens (Classes are held on the first Saturday of each month, and Master Composter training in the Fall. Phone 760-436-7986 for more information).
LA MIRADA: Home Garden Learning Center at La Mirada Civic Center, 13700 La Mirada Boulevard, maintained by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works. Compost demo site open during workshops and scheduled events only. (telephone 1-888-CLEAN-LA for more information, or visit http://www.smartgardening.com .)
LONG BEACH: at the El Dorado Nature Center, 7550 E. Spring St., maintained by the Department of Public Works, Integrated Resources Bureau (workshops offered and bins offered at a discount. Phone 310-570-1745 for more information).
LONG BEACH: Backyard Composting Center at Birney Elementary School, 710 West Spring Street, maintained by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works. Compost demo site open during workshops and scheduled events only. (telephone 1-888-CLEAN-LA for more information, or visit http://www.smartgardening.com .)
PALOS VERDES: Backyard Composting Center at South Coast Botanic Garden, 26300 Crenshaw Boulevard, maintained by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works. Compost demo site open during workshops and scheduled events only. (telephone 1-888-CLEAN-LA for more information, or visit http://www.smartgardening.com .)
PASADENA: Backyard Composting Center at Eaton Canyon Park, 1750 N. Altadena Drive, maintained by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works. Compost demo site open during workshops and scheduled events only. (telephone 1-888-CLEAN-LA for more information, or visit http://www.smartgardening.com.)
ROWLAND HEIGHTS: Backyard Composting Center at Shabarum Park, 17250 E. Colima Road, maintained by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works. Compost demo site open during workshops and scheduled events only. (telephone 1-888-CLEAN-LA for more information, or visit http://www.smartgardening.com.)
SACRAMENTO: There are three sites in the area, at Fair Oaks Park (8000 Temple Park Dr., near community garden), The Safety Center (3909 Bradshaw Road, 1 mi S. of Hwy. 50, back parking lot), and at Rio Linda-Elverta Recreation & Park District Horse Arena (810 Elkhorn Blvd. near Cherry Ln.). Sacramento County and the City of Sacramento sponsor how-to programs several times a month (and a correspondence course), with free compost bins given to those completing the classes. (phone the Sacramento County Rot Line at 916-875-6799 for more information).
SAN FRANCISCO: at Garden for the Community, 7th Ave. and Lawton St.. Composting workshops and demonstrations in English, Spanish, and Cantonese are offered (phone the "rotline" at 415-285-7585 for more information).
SAN JACINTO: on the north end of the campus of Mt. San Jacinto Community College, on State Route 79 between Ramona Expressway. and Gilman Springs. Rd., maintained by Riverside County. Several workshops offered in the Spring and Fall of each year. For more information, contact Steve Lech of the Riverside County Waste Resources Management District at 909-275-4366 (email: slech@co.riverside.ca.us).
SAN JOSE: at Emma Prusch Memorial Park, 647 South King Road, maintained by Master Composters of the University of California Cooperative Extension (Phone: 408-299-4147).
SANTA CLARITA: at Castaic Lake Water Agency, 27234 Bouquet Canyon Rd., maintained by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works. Compost demo site open during workshops and scheduled events only. (telephone 1-888-CLEAN-LA for more information, or visit http://www.smartgardening.com.)
SANTA CRUZ: at the UCSC Farm and Garden, UCSC Campus, Bay and High Streets, maintained by staff and apprentices of the Center for Agro-ecology and Sustainable Food Systems (more popularly known as the Farm and Garden). For more information, phone 831-459-3248.
SONORA: behind the County Library at 480 Greenley Road, maintained by the University of California Cooperative extension of Tuolumne County (classes are offered by Master Gardeners working out of the Farm Advisers Office, phone 209-533-5695 for more information).
TORRANCE: Backyard Composting Center at Columbia Regional Park (adjacent to the Lago Seco Community Garden), 4045 190th Street, maintained by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works. Compost demo site open during workshops and scheduled events only. (telephone 1-888-CLEAN-LA for more information, or visit http://www.smartgardening.com.)
WEST HOLLYWOOD: Backyard Composting Center at Havenhurst Community Garden, 1351 Havenhurst, maintained by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works. Compost demo site open during workshops and scheduled events only. (telephone 1-888-CLEAN-LA for more information, or visit http://www.smartgardening.com.)
Composting Center at Sorenson Park, 11419 Rosehedge Drive, maintained by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works. Compost demo site open during workshops and scheduled events only. (telephone 1-888-CLEAN-LA for more information, or visit http://www.smartgardening.com.)
Colorado:
BOULDER: at the community garden site, behind the North Boulder Recreation Center at 3170 Broadway, maintained by Growing Gardens: http://www.growinggardens.org/ or 303-413-7248.
DENVER: at Gove Community Garden, 13th Ave. and Harrison St. (also faces Colorado Blvd.), maintained by Denver Master Composters (Phone: 303-922-4096).
CARBONDALE: a composting program is available for public viewing at the Colorado Rocky Mountain School. Program highlights are posted at www.crms.org/or contact the main office (970-963-2562 / email to crms@crms.org).
FORT COLLINS: at Lee Martinez Farm, 600 N. Sherwood, open Wed.-Sun. 10-5, maintained by the City Department of Natural Resources (Phone: 970-221-6264)
LONGMONT: at the CSU Cooperative Extension Office, 9595 Nelson Road, maintained by CSU Cooperative Extension (Phone: 303-776-4865)
LOUISVILLE: Louisville leads Boulder County with two sites. One is at the Louisville Arboretum, at the Recreation Center on Via Appia, and the other is at the Louisville/Lafayette Recycling Center (at Hwy. 42 and Pine). Maintained by Boulder County Master Composters and the Louisville Resource Conservation Advisory Board. For more information, contact the Parks and Recreation Department at 303-666-6565 ext. 500.
LOVELAND: City of Loveland Backyard Composting Demonstration Site, 400 N. Willson Ave. (same location as the yard waste composting site), maintained by the City of Loveland (Phone: 970-962-2529)
Georgia:
ATHENS: near the University of Georgia campus, maintained by the University of Georgia Grounds Department (Phone: 706-542-7531)
ATLANTA: at 156 Heaton Park Drive, maintained by the Fernbank Science Center (Phone: 404-378-4314 ext. 318)
ROSWELL: All the Roswell, Georgia recycling stations now have compost demonstration sites. They offer a wide variety of recycling options, including Goodwill charity depositories, tree chipping service and the backyard composting demonstration.
Hawaii:
HALEIWA: at Waimea Falls Park, 59-864 Kamehameha Highway
HONOLULU: at 151 Kapahulu Ave., maintained by the Honolulu Zoo
HONOLULU: at 2131 Makiki Hts. Drive, maintained by The Hawaii Nature Center
KANEOHE: 45-680 Luluku Rd., maintained by Hoomaluhia Botanical Garden
MAUI: a Home Composting Education project is funded by a County of Maui Public Works Recycling grant and is managed by Maui Recycling Group. One-hour workshops are available Saturdays at 10 am at Mantis Eco-Care, 2137 Vineyard Street, Wailuku. A starter bin is given to each participant. Workshops are $5.00 per person. Phone 572-6668 to register.
PEARL CITY: at 962 2nd St, maintained by the Pearl City Urban Garden Center
Illinois:
CHICAGO: in the Hyde Park Neighborhood at Nichols Park, on 53rd Street between Kenwood Avenue (1342 East) and Kimbark (1300 East). Open at all times for visitors, staffed on 1st Saturdays of the month, Spring through Fall, 10:00 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sponsored by Nichols Park Advisory Council, The Resource Center, and the Chicago Recycling Coalition (phone 312-862-2370 for more information).
Indiana:
FULTON COUNTY: located on Monticello Road. Heading north from Rochester on Old US 31 (Main Street), turn west onto Monticello Road and go approximately 1/2 mile to the Rochester Waste Water Treatment plant. Classes available. Sponsored by the Fulton County Solid Waste District (telephone 219-223-4939 for more information).
Kansas:
SALINA: at Kenwood Park,W on Greeley Ave.(left at first intersection), just across the street (SW) from the Bicentennial Center. This site is maintained by the Saline County Master Composters. For more information please telephone 1-785-826-6555.
WICHITA: at the demonstration garden at the Sedgwick County Extension Education Center, 7001 W. 21st N. (21st & Ridge), maintained by the Extension Master Gardeners. Information on composting available at the site and inside the Extension Center. Open daylight hours. Group tours and classes available. (phone 316-722-7721 for more information).
Maryland:
Massachussetts:
NORTH ATTLEBORO: Fred Glover, "the Compost King," maintains a site and will answer questions on the telephone. (phone 508-699-2904 for more information).
WALTHAM: on Beaver Street, 1/4 mile west of Rt. 60, at the University of Massachusetts Waltham Field Station of the Cooperative Extension Service.
Michigan:
ANN ARBOR: located at the Leslie Science Center at 1831 Traver Road. Maintained by Project Grow Community Gardens. Phone is 313-996-3169, or contact the City of Ann Arbor Solid Waste Department (313-994-2807) for further information about this education center.
LANSING: at the Potter Park Zoo, 1301 S. Pennsylvania (maintaining organization not known, phone 517-483-4222 for more information).
NOVI: at Tollgate Education Center, on Meadowbrook Road at 12 Mile Road. Maintained by the Master Gardener Society of Oakland County (phone the Michigan State Extension Service at 810-858-0887 for more information).
Minnesota:
SAINT PAUL: at Como Park, near the entrance to the Como Zoo, maintained by the Saint Paul Neighborhoods Energy Consortium. Open to the public year 'round. Free workshops offered Spring and Fall. (for more information, phone 651-644-7678).
SAINT PAUL: at Highland Park, near the picnic pavilion on Montreal Avenue, maintained by the Saint Paul Neighborhoos Energy Consortium. Open to the public year 'round. Free workshops offered Spring and Fall. (for more information, phone 651-644-7678).
Missouri:
COLUMBIA: located on Rollins Street near Hitt Street/Rollins Street, maintained by Public Works Volunteer Program. Classes and compost bins also available. (for more information, telephone 874-6271)
New Jersey:
EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP: at the Atlantic County Utilities Authority Environmental Park, located at 6700 Delilah Road. Also at the site are an organic community garden, nature trails, and a playground constructed from recycled materials. Environmental tours available (phone 609-646-5500 for more information).
MIDDLETOWN: at Deep Cut Park, on Red Hill Road in Middletown, maintained by the Monmouth County Recycling Office (908-431-7460) and the Monmouth County Park System. Both commercially produced and home-built composters are displayed at the site, along with informational placards. Literature is available. Open year-round during daylight hours. The Recycling Office also has a Master Composter training program, and Master Composters are available to provide home visits, talks, slide shows, demonstrations, and school activities.
New Mexico:
ALBUQUERQUE: at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science, 1801 Mountain Rd NW (Mountain & 18th St.), designed and constructed by the Museum in cooperation with other city and state agencies (phone 505-841-2858 for more information).
ALBUQUERQUE: at the Albuquerque Council of Garden Clubs Center, 10120 Lomas Blvd. Persons interested in Master Composter training should contact the Bernalillo County Extension Service, 243-1386 and indicate their interest.
ALBUQUERQUE: at the NE Xeriscape Garden, Spain at Wyoming NE. Persons interested in Master Composter training should contact the Bernalillo County Extension Service, 243-1386 and indicate their interest.
ALBUQUERQUE: There are also composting demonstration units at the Rio Grande Zoo and the Rio Grande Nature Center (no street addresses available at time of listing). Persons interested in Master Composter training should contact the Bernalillo County Extension Service, 243-1386 and indicate their interest.
New York:
ALBANY COUNTY: Cornell Cooperative Extension sponsors a demonstration site in Albany County. Call them for more information.
AUBURN: at Emerson Park, Lake Ave & Rte 38, maintained by Master Composters of Cornell Cooperative Extension of Cayuga County (phone 315-255-1183 for more information).
NEW YORK CITY: at the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx (contact the Bronx Green-Up Compost Project Manager at 718-817-8024 for more information).
- At the CCETC office, 615 Willow Avenue - Roughly a dozen different bin styles on display with explanations, costs and pros/cons to each bin. This is a working demonstration site where their office composts food scraps.
- At the Ithaca Community Gardens, off the 3rd St. Extension, near the Ithaca Farmer's Market - One row of static-style bins on display, opposite a row of dynamic-style bins. There's an educational board with a beautiful painting of "Love Your Compost" on the backside.
- At the 4-H Acres, Lower Creek Rd. - smaller working demonstration site that is used by 4-H clubs and groups that use the space.
NEW YORK CITY: Queens Botanical Garden, Brooklyn Botanical Garden, and Lower East Side Ecology Center all have sites.
ROCHESTER: Two sites exist in the Rochester area. One is located at the county recycling center on East Henrietta Road and another in Seneca Park Zoo. Maintained by the county's Solid Waste Department and Cornell Cooperative Extension.
North Carolina:
CHAPEL HILL: at the Community Center Park, sponsored by the Garden Club of Chapel Hill.
CHARLOTTE: The Compost Garden is located at Compost Central, run by Mecklenburg County Solid Waste Management, on West Boulevard a mile past the Billy Graham Parkway, near Charlotte/Douglass International Airport. Hands-on how-to classes available in the spring and fall; cost is $5 and participants receive wire for making a bin as well as a guidebook.
DURHAM: Durham has a demo site at the Museum of Life and Science 433 W. Murray Ave. (phone 919-220-5429 for more information). Demonstration classes are sometimes available.
Oregon:
PORTLAND AREA:
Directions to the demonstration garden sites:
Intersection of Southwest Barbur Boulevard and Southwest Miles Street in the Burlingame neighborhood of Southwest Portland
Enter from Southwest Miles. Park in the Fulton Park Community Center parking lot. Disabled passenger parking is adjacent to the site, along gravel road...Visit the Fulton Community Garden site 19600 S. Mollala Ave., Oregon City
Take Park Place/Mollala exit off I-205. Follow the signs to Clackamas Community College via Highway 213. Turn left on Beavercreek Road. Turn right on Clairmont Drive to enter campus. At first intersection, turn left onto North Douglas Loop. The center is directly across from the baseball field. Parking is next to the site...Visit the Clackamas Community College site 6704 SE 122nd Ave., Portland
Take I-205 to the Foster Road exit #17. Travel east on Foster Road to Southeast 122 Avenue. Turn south and continue for three blocks to our parking lot next to Johnson Creek. A short walk across the street will take you up to the Manor House and Gift Shop. Using public transportation, TriMet bus #10 or #71 will let you off at Southeast 122 and Foster Road. A short walk south on Southeast 122 will take you directly to the Garden and Manor House. Display gardens in front and Manor House displays are accessible. Parking and restrooms are also accessible...Visit the Leach Botanical Garden site
Note: The sites do not accept yard debris from the public. Call Metro Recycling Information at 503-234-3000 for referral to drop-off locations for materials you do not want to compost at home.
Pennsylvania:
SANDY LAKE: at McKeever Environmental Learning Center, located 3 1/2 miles east of I-79 at Exit 34, on Rt. 358 (or, from I-80 take exit 3A to Sandy Lake, turn north (right) on Rt 173. At the traffic light turn left [west] towards Greenville on Rt 358 approx. 1 mile. McKeever will be on the right), maintained by Slippery Rock State University. Telephone 412-376-7585 for more information.
WEST CHESTER: near the campus of West Chester University -- the sign for the site is on High St. just outside of West Chester (Route 202 North veers off and if you go straight, you are headed into the city of West Chester).
Tennessee:
GERMANTOWN: operated by the City's Environmental Commission at C.O. Franklin Park at 7725 Poplar Pike. The demo site is just south of the tennis courts in the park, off of Melanie Smith Lane, just east on Poplar Pike from Germantown High School. For more information, contact Bo Mills at 901- 757-7387.
Texas:
CARROLLTON: The Marie Huie Outdoor Learning Center opened in 1995 at Rosemeade Elementary School, 3550 Kimberly. The site includes 15 different types of compost bins, a worm bin, and several garden areas. For more information, contact the Recycling Coordinator at 972-466-4959.
GRAND PRAIRIE: Grand Prairie plans to dedicate a new composting demonstration site in September, 1997 at Kirby Creek Park.
PLANO: A demonstration site is open to the public during daylight hours at 4120 W. Plano Parkway. Trained Master Composters will be on hand from 9 AM to 10:30 AM on the third Saturday of each month to demonstrate pile building. Information is also available from a web site at http://www.mastercomposter.com/local/plano1.html. If you would like to arrange a group visit for your organization, class, or club, contact Heather Merchant at 972-964-4111
Virginia:
LYNCHBURG: Compost Demonstration Project (in cooperation with the Lynchburg Waste Management Facility), on Concord Turnpike off of US 460, maintained by Hill City Master Gardeners (contact Mr. Don Davis, Cooperative Extension Agent, Phone: 804-847-1585).
ROANOKE: behind the Fine Arts Building lower parking lot at Virginia Western Community College, on Colonial Avenue near Towers Shopping Center. Open daylight hours. For more information, contact John Arbogast in the Roanoke City Extension Office at 540-857-7915.
ROANOKE: at Mill Mountain Zoo, near the vegetable garden. There's a fee to enter the zoo, but visits can be arranged to the compost area, and they'll send information to interested individuals. (visit http://www.mmzoo.org for more information).
Washington:
BELLINGHAM: on the corner of Lakeway Drive and Woburn, maintained by Whatcom County Cooperative Extension and used for Master Recycler Composter training (phone 360-676-6736 for more information).
BUSH PRAIRIE: at CASEE (Center for Agriculture, Science, and Environmental Education), 11104 NE 219th St., maintained by the master composters of the WSU Clark County Extension office (phone 360-254-8436 for more information).
FERNDALE: Take exit 263 off of I-5, turn west , go to the RR overpass, turn left and follow signs to Hovander Homestead. Open from April 1 to October 30 each year. Maintained by Whatcom County Cooperative Extension and used for Master Recycler Composter training (phone 360-676-6736 for more information).
SEATTLE: at Seattle Tilth Gardens, in the Wallingford neighborhood. Workshops offered. Seattle Tilth also sponsors many other educational events related to composting, gardening, and small scale agriculture. 206-633-0451 or visit their web site for more information)
SEATTLE: at El Centro de la Raza, on Beacon Hill
West Virginia:
WESTON: behind Jackson's Lodge at Jackson's Mill State 4-H Conference Center, about 100 miles north of Charleston near Interstate 79 (take exit 99 or 105 going west and follow the signs). Visitors are welcome whenever the camp is open. Site maintained by West Virginia University Extension Service Compost Committee (for information, phone 304-367-2772).
Wisconsin:
STEVENS POINT: Schmeekle Reserve at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point maintains a composting demonstration area for the general public as well as providing programs periodically on composting/worm bins. The City of Stevens Point also provides low cost composting bins for residents.
WAUKESHA COUNTY: at Retzer Nature Center, about 3 miles west of the City of Waukesha. No admission fee. (phone 262-896-8007 for more information).
