L.A. Kitchen Scraps is a subscription-based kitchen scraps pickup and composting service for Northeast Los Angeles.
One-on-one, in-person, hands-on instruction for residents of Los Angeles.
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It's Easy
Many of you want to compost but simply lack the time and space required. Neighborhood kitchen scrap collection is a practical alternative that requires little more not throwing away your food waste.
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It Benefits Everyone
Food waste in a landfill releases methane. Methane stinks in many ways. The composting technique technique I use relies on fermentation, which creates very little gas and odor.
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It's Hyperlocal
Keeping scrap collection and composting within one neighborhood reduces carbon emissions. I’m focused on servicing tiny Northeast L.A. neighborhoods (starting with my own in Mt. Washington), to keep impact as small as possible.
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It's a Closed-Loop System
Your food scraps leave your home as garbage and come back to you as compost packed with nutrients and beneficial microbes ready to nourish your garden, yard or house plants.
How It Works
You save your scraps.
It all begins with you and your kitchen scraps — vegetable peels, apple cores, carrot tops, egg shells, citrus rinds, banana peels, even your coffee grounds. Rather than toss them out, you save them in your L.A. Kitchen Scraps container.
I pick up your container.
Once or twice a month (depending on the plan you choose), I pick up your container of kitchen scraps. It doesn’t need to be full. I leave an empty clean one for you to start saving your next batch of scraps. If you need an extra one, no problem.
I compost the scraps for you.
While you’re saving more kitchen scraps and filling up your next container, I’m busy turning your organic waste into compost full of beneficial nutrients and micro-organisms, all good stuff for your soil, garden, lawn and houseplants.
I give you the compost.
Every four months, I bring the compost to you. The more kitchen scraps I collect from you, the more compost you’ll get back. Don't need it? Not a problem. I can donate your compost to local community gardens, schools or other neighbors.
For every two containers you fill, you get one cubic foot of compost back.
6 gallons kitchen scraps means one cubic foot compost for you.
Availability
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Right now, I’m collecting kitchen scraps from the following streets in Mt. Washington-Highland Park-Silver Lake-Los Feliz neighborhoods:
Alegre Place
Angus Street
Arbol Street
Arthur Street
Beverly Blvd
Cleland Avenue
Crane Blvd
Cross Avenue
Cynthia Avenue
Dimmick Drive
Dustin Drive
Frieda Drive
East Frontenac Avenue
Furness Avenue
Glenalbyn Drive
Glenmuir Ave
Hartwick Street
Holland Avenue
Jessica Drive
Kenilworth Avenue
Kensington Road
Langdale Avenue
Malta Street
Mayfair Drive
Milton Court
Montecito Drive
Moon Avenue
Museum Drive
North Nob Hill Drive
Nordica Drove
Olancha Drive
Oban Drive
Oneonta Drive
Otay Drive
Palmer Drive
Palmero Drive
Quail Drive
Rodin Place
Rustic Drive
San Andreas Avenue
San Rafael Avenue
Sargent Place
Scarboro Street
Sea View Drive
Seaview Lane
South Avenue 19
Sunnyhill Drive
Sycamore Terrace
Tacuba Street
Live in another neighborhood?
Let me know and l’ll notify you when I start collecting kitchen scraps available where you live.
You: Who are you and what’s your deal with kitchen scraps?
Me: I’m a Mount Washington resident (since 2000) who really likes to make something out of nothing. I’ve been composting and gardening in my backyard for years and have seen firsthand the difference quality soil makes. It bothers me that so many people spend their money on soil or compost from the garden center while throwing away food waste they could be using to make their own supremely rich soil. I want to reduce waste, improve soil, and build community. — Tom Davies
You: What do I store my scraps in?
Me: When you sign up for collection, you’ll get you a clean, 12-quart L.A. Kitchen Scraps plastic container with a lid. Either store your scraps directly in that container, or if you prefer, use one of the many countertop containers available online and in stores, and then transfer your scraps to your L.A. Kitchen Scraps plastic container as needed. When I collect it, I’ll leave you another clean container so you can start saving scraps for the next time I collect.
You: What kitchen scraps are OK to put in my container?
Me: Here’s a list:
OK FOR L.A. KITCHEN SCRAPS
vegetable & fruit peels, rinds, trimmings — basically any part that you’re not keeping or eating
eggshells
coffee grounds- but not the paper filters
NOT OK FOR L.A. KITCHEN SCRAPS
moldy or rotting food
meat, bones, dairy
fats, grease, oils
coffee filters
packaging including produce stickers
plastic, metal or glass of any kind
yard waste
poo of any kind
If you have questions about what and what not to include, just ask me.
You: I like this idea but, um, but it sounds kinda gross. Doesn’t it smell?
Me: No, not if you keep the container covered and out of the sun. And most countertop containers do a good job of preventing odors.
You: How do my scraps get collected?
Me: Pretty much like the trash. Just leave your L.A. Kitchen Scraps container outside on collection day. It doesn’t need to be full. I’ll swing by and pick up your container. When you sign up, you’ll give me details of where you’ll leave it like, “on the porch” or “behind the gate.” I’ll also leave you a clean container for the next collection.
You: When do I get my compost?
Me: You’ll get your first compost delivery the first January, May or September after you sign up. I package it in one cubic foot bags.
Curious How I Turn Your Kitchen Scraps into Compost?
Learn More About L.A. Kitchen Scraps
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Food is the single largest component taking up space inside US landfills, making up 22 percent of municipal solid waste.
Environmental Protection AgencyOn average, each person in the US wastes 130 lbs of food each year.
United Nations Environment Programme (2021). Food Waste Index Report 2021. Nairobi.When food is disposed in a landfill it rots and becomes a significant source of methane - a potent greenhouse gas with 21 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide.
Ben Simon, Co-Founder & CEO at Imperfect Foods -
• Compost helps break up the heavy clay soil we have so much of here in Northeast Los Angeles.
• Compost balances the pH of your soil.
• Compost reduces and can eliminates the need for chemical fertilizers.
• Compost promotes higher yields of vegetables and fruits.
• Compost enhances water retention in soils.
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I use the bokashi method. Roughly translated from Japanese, “bokashi” means “fading away.” The technique was developed in the 1980s by Dr. Teruo Higa.
Bokashi is an anaerobic method of fermenting organic matter by introducing specific microbes — a science-y way of saying that I mix organic matter (in this case, your food scraps) with some dry bran that contains micro-organisms.
When introduced to food, these microbes begin to ferment the food scraps.
The whole mix is kept in a sealed container (hence, the anaerobic designation) where the fermentation process continues over a period of weeks.
Finally, the fermented scraps are buried in existing compost or soil where they break down for another two weeks. What you’re left with is outstanding microbe- and nutrient-rich soil to grow vegetables, herbs, flowers, shrubs, whatever you want.
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OK FOR L.A. KITCHEN SCRAPS
vegetable & fruit peels, rinds, trimmings — basically any part that you’re not keeping
eggshells
coffee grounds- but not the paper filters
NOT OK FOR L.A. KITCHEN SCRAPS
moldy or rotting food
meat, bones, dairy
fats, grease, oils
coffee filters
poo of any kind
plastic, metal or glass of any kind
yard waste
Resources
Learn more about food waste.
Global Food Losses and Food Waste - Food and Agriculture Org of the United Nations
Food Waste in America -RTS
Food Waste Index Report 2021 - United Nations Environment Programme