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Project Oscar

Project Oscar is Boston’s 24-hour community food waste program. 

Bin Code: 2-1-4

Project Oscar community food waste bins give residents a place to drop off their food scraps so that they can be composted. You can find more information below about where the compost bins are located and what belongs in them.

The City of Boston partners with Black Earth Compost, who collects the food waste from these Project Oscar bins. Black Earth brings the food scraps from the bins back to their composting sites in Manchester, Groton, and Framingham, MA. The food waste is converted into a nutrient-rich compost, which is then sold in bags to garden centers around New England, as well as in bulk to farmers and gardeners! Black Earth's mission is to keep food scraps in the food chain.

  • Have questions? Contact:

  • INSTRUCTIONS FOR LOCKED BINS

    All Project Oscar bins are now green and they are locked. 

    The lock combo is: 2-1-4

    Please make sure to close the lid and lock the bin after you finish dropping off your food scraps. This helps prevent contamination and ensures that your food scraps are able to be composted. Thank you! 

    ALL food waste, including meat, bones, dairy, and fish, is now accepted!

List of locations

all bins are now green and locked.
Brighton, at Faneuil Gardens Apartments in the west parking lot across from McKinney Playground. 

Brighton, at Boston Green Academy, off of Cambridge Street in school parking lot.

Brighton, at Commonwealth Ave and Chiswick Road 

Charlestown, on Austin Street, in the parking lot of the 99 Restaurant. 

Chinatown, at Tai Tung Village, 240 Hudson Street

City Hall Plaza, at 1 City Hall Square.  

Dorchester, at the Codman Square library, 690 Washington Street. 

Dorchester, at the Hero Hope Garden, 424 Geneva Ave

East Boston, at Memorial Stadium Park, adjacent to the playground on Thompson Drive

 

Hyde Park, at 1234 Hyde Park Ave. 

Jamaica Plain, in the parking lot of the Curtis Hall Community Center at 20 South Street. 

Jamaica Plain, in a municipal parking Lot at 490 Centre Street. 

Mission Hill, at the end of driveway at Tobin Community Center, 1481 Tremont Street. 

North End, in the Nazzaro Center parking lot on North Bennet Street. 

Roslindale, 4210 Washington Street 

Roxbury, Municipal Lot 33, 3042 Washington Street

Roxbury, at Municipal Lot #30, 353 Dudley Street

South Boston, at 450 West Broadway Street. 

South End, at the South End Branch Library, 685 Tremont Street

more locations!
Project Oscar is expanding! Let us know where you would like to see new bins. 
 
Project Oscar Map Screenshot

Project Oscar Map

View a map of Project Oscar locations across the City of Boston.
Show Map

What you can compost with Project Oscar

What you can compost
  • Fruit and vegetable scraps, peelings, pits, and seeds
  • Eggshells and nutshells
  • Rice, pasta, cereal
  • Bread, pastries, cookies
  • Meat, fish, bones
  • Dairy products
  • Cheese
  • Coffee grounds and coffee filters
  • Teabags
  • Cut or dry flowers
  • All World Centric products 
  • Napkins, paper towels, paper plates, paper bags
  • Cardboard take-out containers (must have one of the following compost certifications: BPI, TUV, OK Compost and CMA)
  • Wine corks
  • Wooden coffee stirrers
  • Compostable bags (must have one of the following compost certifications: BPI, TUV, OK Compost and CMA)
  • Pizza Boxes
  • Fats, grease, oils
  • Pet waste
  • Compostable diapers 
  • Cigarette butts

Project Oscar Locks

Project Oscar bins can be used to compost personal food scraps by anyone who lives in Boston.  All bins are now green, rodent-proof and locked.

The lock combo is: 2-1-4

Please make sure to close the lid and lock the bin after you finish dropping off your food scraps. This helps prevent contamination and ensures that your food scraps are able to be composted. Thank you! 

ALL food waste, including meat, bones, dairy, and fish is now accepted. 

How to Collect Food Waste At Home

How-To
Contact: Public Works

Store food scraps in a closed lid container. It’s convenient to have your container close to where you produce food waste. Keep your container on your kitchen countertop, by your trash can, or in your freezer. You will bring your food scrap container to your local Boston community food waste drop-off, so make sure it is easy to carry.

There is a full list of what is accepted at each community food waste drop-off program website. Check the Project Oscar page or the farmers markets food waste drop-off website for details. Please be sure to review the lists of what is accepted before you start dropping off your food waste. It is important to only drop-off accepted items so our food waste can be used to make compost. 

If you would like, you can line your food scrap container with BPI-Certified compostable bags. These are available online and in most hardware and grocery stores. 

When you return home from dropping off your food scraps, wash your bin in the sink. Put a little bit of dish soap inside, and rinse a few times with warm water. Throw a bit of baking soda in the bottom of your bin to freshen it up!

Thank you for participating in our programs, and for doing your part to make Boston a zero waste city! 

  • Have questions? Contact:

  • INSTRUCTIONS FOR LOCKED BINS

    All Project Oscar bins are now green and they are locked. 

    The lock combo is: 2-1-4

    Please make sure to close the lid and lock the bin after you finish dropping off your food scraps. This helps prevent contamination and ensures that your food scraps are able to be composted. Thank you! 

    ALL food waste, including meat, bones, dairy, and fish, is now accepted!

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