FAQ

Curbside service

  • We ask that you place your bucket out on the sidewalk by 7:00 am on your designated pickup day. Our drivers are busy servicing our routes between 7:00am and 7:00pm on your scheduled day of service. But, even then, sometime we accidentally miss a pick up. We’re here to make it right. Use the form on our website to Report a Miss or Contact Us and we’ll send a driver out as soon as we can!

    There is also a Report Missed Pickup form in your Customer Portal!

  • No problem. You are not required to put out your bucket each week. Your schedule is entirely up to you. Please note that we do not refund you for weeks you don't need a pick up unless you are gone for 6 or more weeks.

  • Please reference our Holiday Schedule page to see which holidays will affect the pickup schedule. If your pickup day is affected by a holiday, please note that it will return to your normal pickup day the following week.

Filling your bucket

  • This is entirely up to you. You can keep your bucket in the corner of your kitchen, on your porch, in a garage or wherever gives you easy access to discard your food scraps throughout the week. If you store the bucket outside we do ask that you keep it secure or close to your house.

  • Food scraps and compost piles can attract pests, especially in warmer weather during the summer months. The best way to prevent pests is to keep the lid fully sealed. All of our buckets come with airtight lids designed to keep pests and household pets out while keeping odors in.

  • We have a full list of do’s and dont’s when it comes to recycling food scraps on our website. See What Can be Composted to learn more.

    A good general rule of thumb is “if it grows, it’s compostable.” If you have a question about an item not explicitly on the list Contact Us, we can help.

  • While grass and leaves are both compostable materials, the risk might be that you’ll run out of room in your bucket. For this reason, we generally recommend that you dispose of yard waste through your municipality’s separate yard waste program.

  • While we only swap out the compostable materials in your bucket, we understand that you occasionally might have more than what will fit in your bucket. If this happens, please place the materials in a brown paper bag next to your bucket, contact us to let us know, and add a note to the bag so our driver knows to pick it up!

Starting, pausing, cancelling service

  • Yes, for both our drop-off and curbside services you can pay month-to-month. Visit our Residential Services page to signup and toggle to view monthly pricing. You can cancel at any time simply by contacting us.

  • If you’re going to be away for an extended period (6 weeks or more), you may pause your subscription and start back up again when you return home. You will not be charged for the 6+ weeks that you do not receive service. Contact Us, we can help set this up for you.

  • If you’re moving to another area that we serve with our curbside collection, simply login to your customer portal. Then go to Service & Support and fill out the Request a Change of Address form. We will confirm via email when this request has been fulfilled.

    We’ll update our records and ensure that your bucket is picked up at the next pickup day for your new address.

  • Cancellation is quick and easy.

    Login to your customer portal. Then go to Account & Billing and fill out the Request to Cancel form. We will review your request to cancel and confirm via email when this request has been fulfilled.

    You can Contact Us with your request as well.

  • If you are a customer that pays monthly, please reach out as soon as you know that you would like to cancel. If you inform us of your cancellation within three business days of your plan's renewal, we will issue you a refund for that month’s payment. 

    If you are a customer that pays every 4-6 months, we will issue a prorated refund rounded to the nearest month if you decide to cancel your service within the first month of your term.

Finished compost

  • Login to your Customer Portal, go to Products and Supplies, and add the number of portions of compost you would like to request to your cart. Once you checkout, we will receive your request for compost.

    If you are a curbside customer, we will deliver the compost on your next service day. If you are a drop-off customer, you can pick it up that weekend at the booth you selected.

    Please note that you can request up to two free portions of compost each year. You can request them both at once or separately.

    If you would like to receive more than two portions of compost in a year, you can purchase additional portions in the Products & Supplies section of your customer portal.

  • Visit our How to UseYour Compost page.

Customer Portal

  • You can login by clicking the Login button at the top right of our website. This will take you to your Customer Portal where you can manage your account and make requests.

  • To request supplies such as compost, a rubber band, or a new bucket, go to the Products and Supplies section of your customer portal.

    Once you checkout, we will receive and process your request.

    You now have the option to purchase items such as a roll of liners and additional portions of compost as well.

  • Similar to our Contact Us form on our website, you can contact customer support through the Customer Support form on your customer portal. This form can be found under the Service & Support section.

  • You can update your account information, such as your email address, payment method, and password, from your customer portal. Go to the Account & Billing section and select the correct page based on what you would like to update.

“The Compost Exchange has been a great experience and my only regret is that we did not join up sooner.”

— MICHAEL M., REYNOLDSBURG, OH