Food Waste Drop-Off

Sign up using the form below, and receive a starter roll of compostable bags and a food waste collection pail. Current Drop-Off sites are located in Fergus Falls, Battle Lake, New York Mills, Parkers Prairie and Perham. Additional Food Waste Drop-Off sites may be available in other communities in the future.

Collect food scraps and other compostable items in a certified compostable bag or brown paper bag. New signups receive a starter roll of compostable bags and a food waste pail if desired. Other collection containers work fine, such as ice cream pails or small buckets. Using what you already have is the greenest option! Label the container so family and guests know how to sort their waste. The program accepts:

• ALL Food Scraps, including peels, pits, meat, bones, dairy, and fish
• Food-soiled paper products such as paper towels, paper napkins, paper tissues
• Certified compostable products or dishes and utensils obviously made from all plant fiber such as bagasse (sugar cane fiber) or wood.

When collecting your food waste keep in mind:

• Compostable bags are meant to break down, plan to switch your bag 2-3x per week before they start leaking. Store multiple bags in a 5-gallon pail or other larger container until you can drop off. This will also prevent leaks or bag breakage in your vehicle.
• Fruit flies come into your home in fruit peels but may take up residence in your container. For issues with smell or fruit flies – change out your bag more often, keep collection container in fridge or freezer, keep container covered, wash container with hot soapy water.
• For larger amounts of food waste such as corn husks, watermelon rinds, etc. – a large brown paper grocery bag works well. Larger bags – such as 13 gallon or 30 gallon – can be easily purchased online.

Drop off collected food waste and compostable materials in the green carts at the drop-off sites. Absolutely NO plastic bags or packaging are allowed in the drop-off carts! Plastic will contaminate the compost at the compost facility. Food Waste Drop-Off sites are located at:

• Otter Tail County Recycling Center – Fergus Falls
• Perham Resource Recovery Facility – 201 6th Ave NE, Perham
• Otter Tail County Garage – Off Hwy 83, Battle Lake
• New York Mills Area Food Shelf – 400 South Walker Avenue (Kits available for pickup at New York Mills City Hall)
• Parkers Prairie – City Hall Parking Lot

Collected organic materials are brought to the Glacial Ridge Compost Facility in Douglas County. Collected organic waste is combined with wood chips and processed over a period of several months into nutrient rich compost.

Food waste must be contained to help keep the drop-off sites tidy and to minimize smell or pest issues.

Certified compostable bags OR plain brown paper bags are acceptable. Certified compostable bags must have the BPI certification logo, shown on the signage and handouts that come with your starter kit.

Absolutely NO plastic bags! Plastic bags contaminate the compost. If we see plastic bags, we remove that bag and throw it away. If we don’t catch it – which most of the time we don’t – it will lead to microplastics in the soil, or if there are many visible plastic items in our load to the compost facility the entire load may be rejected and landfilled.

Certified compostable bags are available from the following places:

• Ace Hardware (Perham)
• Larry’s Foods in Battle Lake
• Service Food in FF – 13 gallon and 33 gallon only (but great for holidays!)
• Fergus Home and Hardware
• Dutchmen Organics in FF
• Online retailers such as Amazon and World Centric (we do not endorse these businesses, they are merely examples of sources – please shop local if you can)

Purchasing compostable products is easy once you know what to look for. We encourage residents to replace conventional disposable paper plates, plastic utensils and other similar products with compostable items whenever possible. Use the Food Waste Drop-Off sites to ensure these products get composted, as they do not get composted if they are put with the trash, and some – especially PLA corn based resin cups – do not break down very well in a backyard bin.

When purchasing for compostable products, look for products obviously made from all plant material, such as the plates shown here on the top right, or products that are certified compostable by the Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI) or the ASTM D64000 certification. Some options are available locally, and many options are available online.

Products that are shiny, have printing, and are made of plastic will not break down into new soil, and contaminate the compost. When planning an event or family gathering with compostable items, use ALL compostable items to reduce confusion.

• View or print the Compostable Products Purchasing Guide
• Printable signage for holiday gatherings or events