Residential Services

Organic Recycling

EDCO’s New Organics Recycling Program Collects Food Scraps and Yard Waste Mixed Together in Your Green Cart.

La Mirada Residential Organics Coming Soon Mailer-English/Spanish/Korean

Automated Collection:
Residential customers receive one GREEN 96-gallon organics cart or a smaller size for residents with space or storage constraints. Please note that two additional green organics carts are available at no extra cost. Residents with carts beyond three may request additional green carts for a nominal fee. Residents may also place out unlimited tied bundles at no additional charge.

Use your green collection cart to separate landscape waste, food scraps, and other organic materials for collection each week on your scheduled EDCO service day and set out by 7 a.m.

96-Gallon Cart

appx. 35.75" x 29.75" x 43.25"

64-Gallon Cart

appx. 31.75" x 24.25" x 41.75"

32-Gallon Cart

appx. 24.25" x 19.75" x 37.50"

NEED MORE CARTS? Click here and fill out EDCO’s Contact Us form to order more green carts.

Recyclable Organics Includes
  • grass clippings
  • brush
  • weeds
  • hedge trimmings
  • branches
  • leaves
  • palm fronds
  • ice plant (in small amounts only due to weight)
  • ivy
  • flowers
  • Halloween pumpkins
  • Christmas trees (NO flocked trees)
  • food scraps
  • food-soiled paper

Place recyclable organics directly into your designated green collection container. Do not use any kind of plastic bags (including certified compostable or biodegradable bags) for any type of green waste, food waste, or other organics collection or disposal, as they contaminate the compost! All organic material must be placed loosely inside the green container for collection. Paper bags are acceptable.

Please do not place any of the following materials in your green cart:

  • No plastic bags.
  • No trash or hazardous waste.
  • No animal waste.
  • No dirt, rocks, asphalt, concrete, sand, etc.
  • No treated or lead-based painted wood or lumber.

Organic Waste

Food scraps

Organic waste is a renewable natural resource, and it mainly comes from yard and kitchen waste from homes, food waste, and industrial and commercial operations scraps. Mandatory recycling of organic waste is the next step to achieving California’s Zero Waste goals. Recycling organics will be easy and convenient with EDCO’s commingled Organics Recycling program.

EDCO has expanded the source-separated green waste collection to include recycling food waste. The service will allow customers to place food scraps in the same container as green waste. EDCO’s new Organics Recycling program will be a foundation for your community to achieve State mandates, including AB 1826, AB 1594, and SB 1383, which are directly related to organics recycling in the State of California.

EDCO’s Food Waste Recycling Video

To learn more about EDCO’s new Organics Recycling Program and how it will significantly impact the future of organic waste, please watch our informative video.

Why Recycle Food Waste?

Organic waste accounts for over 40% of California’s waste stream material. Organic material cannot break down when buried in a landfill, as it would in nature or a compost pile, because it decomposes without oxygen, releasing methane gas into the atmosphere. Organic waste is recycled into valuable compost or mulch used for soil restoration in an organics recycling program. It can also be recycled by anaerobic digestion, producing nutrient-rich biofertilizer, renewable energy, and fuel. By recycling food waste, you extend valuable landfill space, which also reduces CO2 emissions and preserves our environment!

What Will Go in the Green Cart?

Below are just a few examples of what will be able to be placed in your green cart.

Green onion icon

Food Scraps

Cooked or raw meat, poultry, and seafood (including bones), cheese, dairy products, fruits, vegetables, grains, pasta, eggshells, bread, coffee grounds, tea bags, tea leaves, baked goods, nuts, jelly, candy, snack foods, leftovers, spoiled food.

Food scraps

Food-Soiled Paper

Paper bags, paper napkins, paper towels, paper plates, paper cups, paper take-out containers and take-out boxes (with no plastic or wax coating, and metal removed), coffee filters, tissues.

Pieces of food-soiled paper

Yard Waste

Grass clippings, small branches, small tree limbs, tree roots, flowers, leaves, plants, straw.

Yard waste

Papaya and orange fruit scraps

Leaf icon

What Can You do Now?

In the United States alone, a shocking 40% of food is uneaten, wasted, and discarded. We, as consumers, are the largest producers of food waste, believe it or not, exceeding grocery stores and restaurants combined! So, the smallest changes add up and make a huge difference. Food Finders is a non-profit food recovery organization with the mission of eliminating hunger and food waste while improving nutrition in food-insecure communities. This supports pantries, shelters, agencies, missions, and more within a large part of the Southern California region. Food Finders coordinates all logistics of picking up and distributing your donated food, delivering same-day to a partner agency within your local area. No food is too small or too big, whether it’s perishable, nonperishable, or prepared food. To learn more, call (562) 283-1400 or visit foodfinders.org.

Request a Kitchen Caddie

Residents can request a Kitchen Caddie to conveniently transfer food scraps from the kitchen to the organics cart or compost pile.Kitchen Caddie

Request a Kitchen Caddie

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