Paused: City of Avondale Estates Community Composting Program

Published Mon. April 7, 2025 – The Avondale Estates Community Composting Program is paused until further notice due to a freeze on USDA grant funding caused by recent federal policy changes.

This pause is part of a nationwide review of federal spending. The City of Avondale Estates and CompostNow are actively monitoring the situation and hope to resume the program once funding is reinstated.

You can read the full press release by The City of Avondale Estates, here.

Participating Residents Important Information

Participating residents have two options:

• Final Collection: Return the food scraps container to the curb on your normally scheduled service day during the week of April 14. If funding is reinstated, residents will be notified.

• Continue Supporting: Subscribe with CompostNow to continue composting services without disruption for $29 monthly. Residents choosing to continue service must register online and may cancel anytime by emailing thedirt@compostnow.org.

• Next Steps: The City of Avondale Estates is working to advocate for the restoration of funding for this program, and will continue to update residents as information becomes available.

Program Impact

From August 2024 to April 2025 (8 months), the 532 households participating in this program diverted 80,243 lbs of compostables from landfills!

The USDA grant funding for this 12-month pilot program provided households with a 7-gallon food scrap bin, serviced weekly by CompostNow. The compost generated through the program was intended to be returned to Food Well Alliance and Roots Down, who would distribute it to BIPOC growers in DeKalb County and support edible landscapes and local library gardens.

Images above are from the program launch in August, 2024.

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About CompostNow

Founded in 2011, CompostNow is a solutions provider for organics recycling with expertise in hauling, logistics, consultation, production, and distribution of compost. Their collection services and network of facilities help thousands of homes, businesses, and municipalities divert and compost over a million pounds of pre-consumer and post-consumer organic waste each month. CompostNow’s work is rooted at the intersection of healthy people and healthy planet, and their mission is to rebuild the health of our soil by diverting waste from landfills and using it to create compost for our communities. B Corp Certified