Take an Austin Composting Class, Get a Cheap Compost System

The City of Austin wants to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills by encouraging residents to compost. 

Free composting classes are being offered online and throughout Austin. Since the program’s inception in 2010, more than 6,000 Austinites have taken a composting class.

"The City of Austin does not require residents to compost or recycle, but we do encourage people to reduce waste as much as possible," says waste diversion senior planner Sylba Everett. "The smaller the [trash] cart the less you pay on your utility bill. So by encouraging people to recycle and compost as much as possible, they could choose a smaller cart and hopefully save on their bill."

Residents participating in the Home Composting Rebate Program are required to downsize to a 24-gallon or 32-gallon trash cart and take a free home composting class. After completing the class, participants are eligible for a rebate on a home composting system, up to 75 percent of the total cost, *up to $75.

The City of Austin hopes the rebate program will help reach the cities long-term Zero Waste goals.

“We want to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills by 90 percent by the year 2040, and this composting rebate program encourages residents to compost," Everett says.

Here's a schedule of free composting classes:

• 3/26/14 6:30 p.m. Austin City Hall, 301 W. 2nd St.
• 4/7/14 6 p.m. Hampton Branch Library at Oak Hill, 5125 Convict Hill Rd.
• 4/12/14 9:30 a.m. SFC Farmers' Market at Sunset Valley, 3200 Jones Rd.
• 4/23/14 6 p.m. SFC Farmers' Market at The Triangle, 46th and Lamar
• 4/29/14 6 p.m. Ruiz Branch Library, 1600 Grove Blvd.
• 4/30/14 6 p.m. Austin City Hall, 301 W. 2nd St.
• 5/6/14 6 p.m. Howson Branch Library, 2500 Exposition Blvd.
• 5/10/14 2 p.m. Recycled Reads Bookstore, 5335 Burnet Rd.
• 5/17/14 9:30 a.m. SFC Farmers' Market Downtown, Republic Square Park
• 5/21/14 6 p.m. Millwood Branch Library, 12500 Amherst Dr.
• 5/31/14 9:30 a.m. SFC Farmers' Market at Sunset Valley, 3200 Jones Rd.
• 6/4/14 6 p.m. Old Quarry Branch Library, 7051 Village Center Dr.
• 6/14/14 9:30 a.m. SFC Farmers' Market Downtown, Republic Square Park
• 6/18/14 6 p.m. Terrazas Branch Library, 1105 E. Cesar Chavez St.
• 6/25/14 6:30 p.m. Austin City Hall, 301 W. 2nd St.
• 6/28/14 9:30 a.m. SFC Farmers' Market at Sunset Valley, 3200 Jones Rd.
• 7/7/14 6 p.m. University Hills Branch Library, 4721 Loyola Ln.
• 7/16/14 6 p.m. SFC Farmers' Market at The Triangle, 46th and Lamar
• 7/30/14 6 p.m. Twin Oaks Branch Library, 1800 S.5th St.
• 8/12/14 6 p.m. Willie Mae Kirk Branch Library, 3101 Oak Springs Dr.
• 8/27/14 6 p.m. Spicewood Springs Branch Library, 8637 Spicewood Springs Rd.

* This article has been edited to add that the total rebate can not exceed $75. An Austin Resource Recovery spokesperson provided this clarification: "For example, a $50 composter would get a 75 percent rebate of $37.50. A $300 composter would get a flat $75 rebate."