How does composting work in Aspen?

Aspen passed an Organic Waste Diversion Ordinance in 2023, and it's been phasing in ever since: restaurants and food retailers first, then as of January 2026 every commercial business and multifamily building, with all residents required by January 2028. The short version of the rule: food doesn't go in the trash anymore. It gets composted or donated. Most people find out about this from a confused HOA email. Consider this the friendlier version. WHAT THE RULE ACTUALLY MEANS Food scraps can't be landfilled, they have to be diverted. Diverted can mean composted (picked up, dropped off, or done in your yard) or donated while still edible. The city's official page at aspen.gov has the ordinance details and current deadlines, and the wonderful part almost nobody knows: email waste@aspen.gov and the city will give you a FREE countertop compost container, signage for your building, and even training, in English and Spanish. YOUR THREE WAYS TO COMPLY One: curbside pickup. Two local haulers run compost routes, Evergreen ZeroWaste and Mountain Waste & Recycling. Call and ask to add organics service; if you're in a multifamily building, this is usually the building's job, so forward this guide to your HOA or property manager. Two: drop it off. The Pitkin County Solid Waste Center runs the valley's composting operation (it's genuinely good at it, the finished compost goes back into local gardens). Check pitkincounty.com for current drop-off details and hours before you load the car. Three: backyard composting with a giant Aspen-sized asterisk. See the bears section, because this is where new composters go wrong. WHAT GOES IN THE BUCKET The safe list everywhere: fruit and vegetable scraps, coffee grounds and filters, tea, eggshells, plate scrapings, stale bread. The valley's industrial operation can handle far more than a backyard pile can (including things like meat and bones that home piles can't), but accepted lists change and "compostable" packaging is a minefield.. when in doubt, check the current accepted list with your hauler or the Solid Waste Center rather than wishcycling. A wrong item contaminates a whole load. THE BEAR PARAGRAPH (read this one) We live in bear country, and a fragrant compost bucket is a dinner bell. Indoors: keep the countertop bin small and empty it often. Outdoors: curbside compost bins fall under the same wildlife-protection rules as trash.. secured, bear-resistant, out only when they're supposed to be. Backyard piles: never meat, dairy, or cooked food in an open pile here, ever.. that's how a bear becomes "a problem bear," and that story ends badly for the bear. If you want to compost everything, that's exactly what the pickup and drop-off options are for. WHY BOTHER (BESIDES THE LAW) Food in a landfill makes methane. Food in Pitkin County's compost program becomes soil that goes back into valley gardens, one of the rare waste programs that actually pays for itself. And donation beats both: if food is still edible, food-rescue groups in the valley will get it to people, not piles. Every business on our map that's figured out their compost routine is proof it's doable, ask them how they did it. That's what neighbors are for. — Written in Aspen by Chloe, with supervision from Birdie & Goose 🐩🐩