OUR IMPACT
Food scraps, back into soil
Since we started, Tahoe Composts has kept thousands of pounds of food waste out of landfills. Here's where things stand today.
15,000+
lbs of food scraps diverted
60+
households composting
2022
serving the community since
4
metric tons CO₂e avoided
Why it matters
When food waste goes to the landfill, it gets buried and breaks down without oxygen. That process releases methane, a greenhouse gas far more potent than carbon dioxide in the near term. Food scraps are one of the most preventable sources of landfill methane, because they don't need to be there at all.
Composting changes the outcome. The same scraps break down with oxygen and become nutrient-rich compost that goes back into gardens, landscaping, and soil restoration around the region.
Where your food scraps go
Your curb, South Lake Tahoe → South Tahoe Refuse → Full Circle Compost, Carson City NV → Compost sold across the region, including locally
Your food scraps don't sit in a landfill. South Tahoe Refuse hauls them from the Basin to Full Circle Soils & Compost, a composting facility in northern Nevada that turns organic waste into finished compost.
From there, that compost goes back into gardens, nurseries, and landscapes across the Sierra and northern Nevada, and it's sold right here in South Lake Tahoe. The scraps you set out in the morning become soil that grows the next season's plants.
Growing the program
Every new household multiplies the effect. A single home composting through our program diverts roughly 380 pounds of food waste a year. Multiply that across hundreds of homes and the numbers add up fast. Our goal is to make curbside composting the norm in South Lake Tahoe, so diverting food scraps becomes as routine as taking out the recycling.
Help these numbers grow
Memberships and donations both move the totals. Pick the way that works for you.