In 2025, the Birdhouse Community Garden composting project diverted 20,838 pounds of food scraps and organic material from landfills.
For the past ten years, Birdhouse has partnered with NOPE (Natural Organic Process Enterprises) to provide the Randolph neighborhood with a place to bring kitchen waste and food scraps for composting. The project has grown from a single bin, emptied weekly, to three compost bins emptied twice a week.
It’s simple to divert your food scraps from our landfills!
The compost bins are located in Petronius Jones Park on the southside of the brick gazebo between the Randolph pickleball courts and closest to the Randolph Community Pool. They are available 24/7 and emptied on Tuesdays and Fridays. Bring your kitchen waste and table scraps—no yard waste or compostable packaging materials, please!
Urban Composting Tips
Tupperware containers, plastic bags full of scraps in the freezer, 5-gallon buckets on the back porch, old cat litter containers - really anything can become a compost container once it’s cleaned out! You don’t need to purchase anything to start composting - look around and you’re sure to find a container that would work.
If space and the smell of compost is an issue, try putting your container in the freezer! This cuts down on the smell and you can dump the container once it’s full.
Birdhouse isn’t the only space with urban composting options! Richmond Grows Gardens has installed composting sites all over the city - if Randolph is too far, check out RGG’s composting sites to see if one is closer by!