On the recommendation of its Sustainability Committee, City Council on February 24 voted to initiate a citywide composting program, enabling residents to drop off their food waste at six different locations with no fee for participation.
Expected to launch on Earth Day, April 22, the program will divert hundreds of thousands of pounds of food waste from the landfill each year. This will greatly reduce the generation of methane, a greenhouse gas associated with climate change and generated from the anaerobic decomposition of food waste in a landfill. The program also enables the production of compost, which is mixed with soil to provide nutrients for growing plants.
“We are very pleased to offer this free, convenient service to Shaker residents,” said Councilmember Kim Bixenstine, chair of the Sustainability Committee. “Shaker residents value sustainable practices and this is a way the City can help residents combat climate change and support healthy, fertile soil.”
Starting April 22, public drop-off sites will be available at the five Shaker Heights City School District elementary schools – Boulevard, Fernway, Lomond, Mercer, and Onaway – and at the Main Shaker Heights Public Library.
Citywide collection expands on a very successful pilot offered in Shaker’s Lomond neighborhood, where 126 households have dropped off more than 30,000 pounds of food waste since 2023. Funded by a grant from the Cuyahoga County Solid Waste District, this pilot enabled Lomond residents to register and receive a code for accessing composting bins placed at Lomond Elementary School.
The Citywide program would function the same way, with registered participants provided a code or, at the library site, the option of using a smart phone app. The library site was selected for a pilot of a container system that encloses the plastic bins used by Rust Belt Riders, the Cleveland-based cooperative that runs the program. In addition to improved aesthetics, the app-operated container system will provide data on how often and when the bins are used and will include sensors to determine how full the bins are. This data will help to identify potential cost savings.
An allocation of $75,000 was included in the City’s 2025 Operating Budget to cover a one-year contract with Rust Belt Riders.
The City began collecting food waste in 2019 through various programs, including a public drop-off site at The Nature Center at Shaker Lakes. Over time, this grew to include more drop-off sites, residential pick-up, and, as of this school year, collection at all five public elementary schools. Together, these efforts resulted in over 683,775 pounds of food waste collected in 2024.
Residents interested in preregistering for the new citywide drop-off program should visit this webpage. Residents who already subscribe to Rust Belt Riders residential pick-up program may continue to do so or contact Rust Belt Riders at support@rustbeltriders.com about switching to the free drop-off program. Not included in this program are drop-offs at the Nature Center at Shaker Lakes and the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Cleveland.
More information, including what can and can't be composted, is available on this Composting page.