Food and Yard Waste Collection in Boise and Salt Lake City

Boise and Salt Lake City utilize integrated organic waste management systems that allow residents to collect food waste and yard waste within a single designated cart.

In Boise, the residential compost program began in 2017. The city provides residents with a green-lidded compost cart for curbside collection, a system that has seen a 97% participation rate among residents. This program accounts for the composting of over a third of all collected residential waste annually.

Boise Organic Waste Logistics

The City of Boise manages its waste programs through the Curb It initiative in partnership with Republic Services. Curbside compost is collected once a week throughout the year. To manage overflow, the city allows residents to use paper leaf bags, with a limit of 10 bags per week. These bags must be placed three feet away from the compost cart to facilitate loading into collection trucks.

For residents who do not have a compost cart, the city operates a free Food Scrap Drop Off Program. This program allows participants to bring food scraps to various neighborhood drop-off sites.

According to city documentation, the composting program is designed to preserve landfill space, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and support the production of nutritious local food by building healthy soils.

Salt Lake City Waste Management

Salt Lake City employs a color-coded cart system to separate residential waste streams. Residents use a brown cart specifically for compost, while other materials are divided into blue carts for recycling, green carts for garbage, and grey carts for glass recycling.

Weekly curbside collection for garbage, recycling, and compost is maintained on all holidays with the exception of New Year’s Day, Christmas Day, and Thanksgiving. The city has approved a rate increase for these services to take effect in July 2025.

Beyond standard curbside pickup, Salt Lake City has implemented the Call 2 Haul program for bulk waste collection, which replaced the previous Neighborhood Cleanup system. The city also provides resources for the disposal of hard-to-recycle materials, including pharmaceutical waste, e-waste, fluorescent and CFL bulbs, and household hazardous waste.

Comparative Waste Infrastructure

Both cities have moved toward a model that simplifies organic waste disposal by combining food and yard debris. This approach reduces the need for multiple specialized bins for different types of organic matter.

• Boise utilizes a green-lidded cart and partners with Republic Services for weekly collection.
• Salt Lake City utilizes a brown cart and provides specialized bulk waste services via Call 2 Haul.
• Both cities provide alternative disposal methods for materials that cannot be processed through standard curbside composting, such as hazardous waste and electronics.

In Boise, residents can report missed compost, trash, recycling, or glass services by contacting Republic Services at (208) 345-1266. In Salt Lake City, illegal dumping can be reported by calling (801) 535-6999 or by submitting a request through the MySLC app or website.