Residences and businesses can sign up for compost material collection. Athens-Hocking Recycling provides 5-gallon and 35-gallon containers to collect food waste for residential and commercial customers, where we collect the material from your location each week. Service collection areas include Athens Township, Chauncey, The Plains, Nelsonville, and surrounding areas. We also offer a drop-off location at our compost facility located at 5991 Industrial Drive.
- Residential Weekly Pickup
- Business Weekly Pickup
- Free drop-off for district residents
- Commercial/bulk drop-off options
- Vegetable scraps
- Fruit scraps
- Coffee grounds
- Tea and tea bags
- Egg shells
- Stale bread
- Paper towels and napkins
- Grass clippings
- Wood chips
- Certified BPI compostable service ware
- Empty compostable bags
- Bulk meat, fish, bones
- Bulk cheese, eggs, milk
- Oils and fats
- Plastic, glass, or metal
- Chemicals
- Lumber
- Aluminum foil
- Animal waste
Food waste is mixed, collected, and brought to our compost facility at 5991 Industrial Drive in Athens. It is combined with other woody (wood chips) and non-woody (leaves, grass clippings) organic matter until a certain volume is reached. Once the desired volume (40-60 cubic yards) is reached, the mix is put in a bay for the first stage of the process. After one month, it is turned by placing it in the next bay. This turning introduces more oxygen and assures proper mixing of the material. After another month in the second bay, the materials are ready to be removed from the bay and are ready for screening. Both bays have a blower system which also helps aerate the materials. Once the organic material is screened to remove larger size pieces, it can be sold as a soil amendment or combined with other materials to create different soil mixtures for various purposes.