What’s Accepted as Food & Yard Waste
Food scraps and food-soiled paper can be placed only in your city-provided food and yard waste cart. Do not put food scraps and food-soiled paper in any other yard waste container. See our flyer (pdf) for pictures of what you can put in Seattle Food & Yard Waste carts. For more details, Look It Up. Still have questions? Email Ask Evelyn.
You can purchase approved compostable bags to collect food waste in your kitchen at retail stores.
Yes! In Your Food and Yard Waste Cart
Not! In Your Food and Yard Waste Cart
Yes! In Your Food and Yard Waste Cart
Food scraps
- Fruit and vegetables
- Bread, pasta, grains
- Eggshells, nutshells
- Coffee grounds filters
- Tea bags
- Meat, fish, and chicken
- Dairy products - milk, butter, cheese
- Shells and bones
Food-soiled paper
- Paper towels napkins - kitchen only
- Paper plates - uncoated only
- Food-soiled newspaper
- Greasy pizza boxes
- Shredded paper
- Paper bags (uncoated) with food scraps
- Compostable bags
- Approved compostable tableware (pdf)
Yard waste
- Plant material
- Grass
- Leaves, branches, twigs - up to 4 inches in diameter and 4 feet in length
- Plant and tree trimmings
- House plants - no pots
- Small amounts of sod - less than 60 pounds
- Holiday trees - no tinsel, ornaments, flocking; no longer than 6 feet long and 4 inches in diameter
- Bundles up to 4 feet long and 2 feet in diameter, tied with natural twine
Not! In Your Food and Yard Waste Cart
Garbage can:
- Biodegradeable containers unless marked “Approved” by Cedar Grove
- Styrofoam containers
- Dirty coated paper cups plates. Clean ones can be recycled
- Disposable utensils
- Grease and fats in lidded container
- Facial or toilet tissue
- Diapers
- Pet waste and litter
- Household trash/litter
- Hoses
- Garden tools
- Bundles tied with wire, nylon cording or plastic banding
- Loose soil
- Rocks/gravel
Recycle cart - all items must be clean
- Plastic shopping, newspaper, and dry cleaner bags - clean, stuffed together. No produce bags
- Milk, juice ice cream cartons - rinsed
- Cardboard - unwaxed, flattened
- Plastic bottles, jugs dairy tubs
- Glass bottles and jars
- Metal cans
- Paper - dry
- Nursery pots
- Paper and plastic cups - clean
- Plastic trays and containers
See Special or Hazardous Items for detail about items the require special handling. For waste reduction tips see Reduce, Reuse, Exchange.
Get the picture
View a video of what you can and can’t put in Seattle food and yard waste containers. Translated versions of the video are also available. Mandarin | Cantonese | Spanish | Vietnamese
See our photo guide (with translations).
Related Links
Backyard Composting
Where to Buy Compostable Bags
Recycling Disposal Stations -Yard Waste Drop-Off