Dish to Dirt A Home Composting Program Logo

In Springfield, food waste is the second largest component of our collective waste stream, accounting for over 12% of the waste that makes it in the landfill every day. That’s over 50,000 tons of food being sent to our landfill every year. 
Dish to Dirt is a home composting program that provides education and engagement with the community, but to also institute new practices and behaviors at home.


Home Composting

We Dish the Dirt

In fact, Dish to Dirt is the name of our new home composting program. We provide residents in the Waste District O region, (Greene, Christian, Webster, Polk, and Dallas counties) with composting education opportunities, resources for composting materials, tips and how-to.
Sign up and be a part of Dish to Dirt, today!

For additional information or questions, please email [email protected]

Dish to Dirt Sign up

Compost Tips 

It seems simple enough to throw old food and scraps into a bin and then wait for it to turn to dirt. It is easy, but it does take a little more effort and understanding to make it work right. Use our compost tips and resources page to help you answer all of the tough questions like "is this compostable?", "what do I do if I notice ants in my compost?" and, of course, "how long before my food scraps become compost that I can use?" Watch our videos to learn more!

Become a master of compost and eliminate extra waste from going to the landfill by repurposing it for your yard and garden.

Rethink Food

A week goes by and the crisper is opened only to reveal mold has claimed all of the vegetables. We’ve all experienced this. In fact, this generally results in more food being purchased and ultimately, more food being wasted. A few small adjustments in the practice of storing food is not only good for our pocketbooks, but our environment, as well. 

Planning your emails around what ingredients you have is another practical way to reduce food waste. Before you go shopping, plan your meals and take stock of food you already have. Shop your fridge, pantry and freezer first to help save money and reduce waste.

Just because the expiration date is past or the produce is browning doesn’t mean it is no longer edible and can no longer be used. Feel free to save those scraps and pull out the aging milk and produce to make something tasty.


Save time and money by using past their prime ingredients in one of our recipes!


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Recipe Cards
FoodMattersLogo

Food Matters 

Home isn’t the only place that food is cooked. Many of us take a night off and visit one of our great community restaurants. This is why composting doesn’t stop at home, but applies to all kitchens. Food Matters is a new pilot program offered to select community restaurants to help tackle the food waste issue from a new front. If you are interested in the program, out of curiosities sake or if you own a restaurant that would love to have future involvement, then learn more at springfieldmo.gov/foodmatterssgf