Community Compost Network

A growing network of community-led composting across the City of Philadelphia.

Program Overview

The network is open to publicly accessible spaces, including but not limited to community gardens, urban farms, places of worship, schools, recreation centers, public parks, and other neighborhood civic groups. This year Farm Philly will prioritize neighborhoods that are not adjacent to existing Community Compost Network sites in an effort to ensure equitable distribution of resources across the city.

Once accepted into the network, sites will receive all of the necessary supplies including thermometers, wheelbarrows, shovels, and more to run a successful compost operation, completely free of charge. Farm Philly seeks enthusiastic partners interested in collaborating with residents to provide a valuable public resource to their neighborhoods.

To qualify for participation, applicants must be willing to accept food scraps at their site and/or local neighborhood and assemble a dedicated team of volunteers committed to expanding this grassroots network. Each site will determine how they want to manage members and accept and process food waste on-site.

The Community Compost Network is a program that supports composting efforts at 19 sites across the City. The sites include community gardens, farms, and schools where residents are invited to compost their food and yard waste. Farm Philly provides the network sites with a 3-bin composting system, educational materials, hands-on and virtual training, and all of the tools and supplies needed to run a compost operation, at no cost for participants. The program collaborates with PowerCorpsPHL to construct the bins, and with the Institute for Local Self-Reliance for educational materials and training.

Program History

Parks & Recreation launched the Community Compost Network in 2019, modeled after a similar program at the District of Columbia Department of Parks and Recreation. This type of grassroots approach to reducing waste is having a direct impact on neighborhoods and landfills, and is making a new resource from which residents can benefit. Residents in the Network are actively reducing the amount of waste going to landfill, and directly contributing to the City’s litter free and recycling goals. 

New Additions to the Network: Second Cohort Sites

Eastwick Community Compost site with tools
Eastwick Community Compost site with tools.
Fernhill Food Forest bins
Rear view of compost bins at Fernhill Food Forest.
Compost Bins at Open Kitchen Sculpture Garden
Compost bins at The Open Kitchen Sculpture Garden on N Philip Street.

Compost System Details

This rodent-proof, 3-bin compost system is designed for its durability, large size, and modular nature. This system is composed of a series of 4’ x 4’ bins. In the 3-bin design, the overall footprint of the system is 4’ x 12’.

Constructing the bins this modular way provides participants the option of adding additional bins. For those that would like to build their own compost bins, check out this Vancouver Bin Guide also available in Spanish.

Parks & Rec utilized the Compost Knox system (not currently open source) designed by the firm Urban Farm Plans.  

 

Community Compost Network 3-bin system

Find a Compost Site

To find a Community Compost Network site near you, interact with the map.

*Please be sure to check each site’s access information. Some sites are only open to members. Others are open for drop-off once a week. For more details, use the contact information provided at the top of each entry.

West Philly Tool Library Compost Drop off

Our friends at the West Philly Tool Library have partnered with Bennett Compost to offer a free drop off program during regular hours. 

  • Monday-Thursday: 5:30-8:30pm
  • Friday: 10am-1pm
  • Saturday-Sunday: 9am-3pm

The drop off bin is directly outside the door at 1314 S 47th Street and is labeled with “Compostable Materials Only”. For more information, contact info@westphillytools.org.

Sites in the Community Compost Network
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Cohort 1 Sites

Liberty Lands

Lawncrest Community Garden

Cesar Andreu Iglesias Garden

CSB Playgarden

Temple U Community Garden

Carousel House Farm

St. James School

Brewerytown Community Garden

FNC Learning Farm at 8th & Poplar

Pleasant Playground Community Garden

Cohort 2 Sites

Aspen Farm

Reinhard Street Community Farm

Eastwick Community Garden

The U School

The Open Kitchen Sculpture Garden

Fernhill Park Food Forest

Emerald Street Community Farm

Mantua Urban Peace Garden

Community Gardens @
South Philly
High School

Quotes from the Urban Agriculture Community