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Watch our 1-minute video to see how small actions can make a big impact for Los Angeles. Let’s put our waste to work. GREEN Bin it, LA.

Every peel, stem, eggshell, crust, soiled napkin, and yard trimming you put in your green bin helps LASAN create compost that nourishes the soil at California farms to grow fresh food for our communities. By keeping food and green waste out of landfills, Angelenos also help reduce methane emissions and protect our climate for future generations.

The term "organic waste" covers a wide variety of items including yard trimmings, manure, food waste, and more. Organic waste makes up a large portion of waste that goes to disposal in landfills. LA Sanitation & Environment (LASAN) has had a program since the 1990's for the collection and recycling of yard trimmings and manure, and has been training City residents for the past 20 years on how to manage organic waste in their own backyards through composting workshops.

When organic waste is buried in landfills it can decompose anaerobically (without oxygen) and generate methane gas, a potent greenhouse gas that has negative effects on our environment. Because recycling organic waste helps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, LASAN is working on a number of programs to beneficially reuse food waste and compostable materials, thus preventing them from being buried in landfills. These programs include food waste prevention, food rescue of edible food to provide meals to those facing food insecurity, creation of renewable energy from food scraps, and the enrichment of the soil through the creation of compost.