NEW COMPOST HUB LOCATION AT HEATHER FARM PARK AS OF 3/7/26! SEE LOCATION DETAILS BELOW.
2026 Free Annual Compost Giveaway Events
Free Compost Hub
RecycleSmart provides free compost to residents in partnership with Republic Services and the City of Walnut Creek. No scheduling. The hub is located at Heather Farm Park. RecycleSmart cities and towns participating in this program include:
- Walnut Creek
- Orinda
- Lafayette
- Moraga
- Danville
- Unincorporated Central Contra Costa (Alamo, Blackhawk, Diablo)
Compost is available for pickup at Heather Farm Park located at 301 N. San Carlos Drive in Walnut Creek.
Hub Location: When you drive into Heather Farm Park on N. San Carlos, the hub is located in the first parking lot entrance on your right. The compost hub is located towards the back of the parking lot in a gated enclosure, sitting against Ygnacio Valley.
Be very careful opening the gate doors.
Residents can drive directly up to the compost pile to load compost. Loading equipment is not provided. Compost pickup is made available at your own risk.
If you have questions about the compost hub, please reach out to RecycleSmart at (925) 906-1801 or authority@recyclesmart.org.
- Republic Services will drop off compost twice monthly during the spring and summer months by the FIRST AND THIRD SATURDAYS and it will be available daily until gone.
- The free compost is first come, first-served, and RecycleSmart cannot guarantee or confirm availability of compost.
- RecycleSmart residents may take up to 50-gallons of compost (e.g. ten 5-gallon buckets). Please honor these guidelines so that compost can be made available to the community.
- To pick up compost, you should bring your own shovels, containers, and safety gear to load the material yourself. Pickup trucks must tarp their loads.
Thank you, Republic Services, for compost donation! The compost is made from green cart organic materials such as yard trimmings, food scraps, and uncoated food-soiled paper, collected and processed by Republic Services. The organic materials are brought to a commercial composting facility where they are converted into a highly aerobic, microbial compost. The compost making process involves the careful mixing of the organic materials and monitoring of the carbon to nitrogen ratio, CO2, temperature, and moisture.
Benefits of Using Compost:
- Compost returns nutrients to the soil, such as phosphorus, potassium, nitrogen, and many trace minerals, which are slowly released and contribute to healthy plant growth.
- Compost is a natural fertilizer.
- Compost suppresses weed growth and the improved soil condition makes it more difficult for weeds to anchor roots.
- Compost helps control erosion and protects plant roots from sun and wind damage.
- Compost increases water retention.
- Compost helps reduce soil diseases.
Compost Information:
- Yard waste, food scraps & uncoated food-soiled paper from your organics cart are turned into compost at our Forward Compost facility in Manteca, CA.
- Seal of Testing Assurance (STA) certified through US Composting Council (tested for pathogens, heavy metals, nutrients etc.), regularly tested by 3rd party.
- CA Dept. of Food & Agriculture (CDFA) certified as an Organic Input Material (OIM)
- Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI) listed/certified: https://www.omri.org
- To apply compost, mix with soil. Start with one part native soil to one part compost but it depends on what you’re growing.
- To apply compost, mix with soil. Start with one part native soil to one part compost but it depends on what you’re growing.
- Check out www.recyclesmart.org/composting for resources on how to compost in your own backyard.