Closing the Loop, one scrap at a time
Our Mission
We know that organic matter in the landfills creates methane: a greenhouse gas up to 85% more harmful than carbon dioxide. We not only aim to recycle as much organic material as possible but make quality compost for local soils.
After we have hauled and collected our food scraps, we process them. We sort through our material, turn it, and test it to make sure that local farms can have access to quality local compost. We work to educate the public on the importance of closing the loop with a table-to-farm practice.
A closed loop food system is truly what sustainability is all about. By reducing outside & chemical inputs, our local soil health is greater and more resilient.
The way we see it: if we can close the loop, why not go for it?
We aim to help grow a network of people who want to do their part for the environment. In this case, each bucket counts! A little bit truly goes a long way.
After founding Happy Trash Can in 2016, we have doubled in volume each year. We currently haul around 15,000 pounds each week.
Our finished compost goes back to our subscribers, local farms, and local gardeners. We have provided compost to farms like Strike, Chance, and Kokoro plus many more! Look out for our compost and our partners in the Bozeman, Belgrade, and Livingston areas.
Best Compost Practices & FAQ
Make that compost happy
Helpful info for our current subscribers:
Need to change up your payment info? Head here to our payer-portal.
Moving or need to cancel? Email us at info@happytrashcan.net
Need a washed bucket? We swap washed buckets anytime by request! An email ahead of your pick-up day is best.
We provide Bio-Bag liners with every pick-up, if you don’t want to use them just let us know! These break down in our piles after about 1 week. We suggest giving your bucket a rinse and letting it dry before re-lining it. Reach out for more tips on how best to use the liners.
Overflowing bucket?
Extra bags or full buckets is $4 each pickup
Consistent extras, email us to upgrade to a 2nd bucket for $5 a month.
Forgot your bucket and need an emergency pick up: We will pick it up as soon as possible and charge a $5-$10 special pickup fee, depending on location. Our members-only drop-offs are free and available 24/7. See below.
Yard and leaf pickups: For our subscribers, we will take yard waste in compostable bags by request! Leaf bags under 5lbs are accepted at $2 each. Schedule with us over email. We absolutely need confirmation of no herbicide use before we accept them.
Keep a rock or a weight on that lid! Replacement or lost bucket fees are $10. If you find your bucket, let us know and we will refund you. If you live in an apartment complex, we recommend keeping your name and apt # on the lid. Keep buckets away from communal dumpster areas, and we are always here to work with your location to find the best spot.
Buckets need to be placed curbside, or at a designated location. We don’t pick up from porches or on properties, unless in special & decided circumstances.
Seasonal extras:
Pumpkins: Should fit in the bucket. Extra pricing depends on pumpkin size. We charge $3-$5 per pumpkin per pickup from small to large.
A haul of many pumpkins requires a special pickup by request. We always highly encourage all to come to our annual Pumpkin Smash for free!
Christmas Trees: available for pickups by request. Fees range from $10-15 for pick-ups
Finished Compost Distribution:
Our free compost-share distribution events resume April 2023! Keep an eye out for an email announcement for subscribers.
For bulk compost by the cubic yard, email us to get on the list ASAP before we sell out! It goes quick!
What’s in the bucket? We process all of our compost by hand. Help us keep our stream clean! There is no magical “away” process. Rule of thumb: If it doesn’t say “compostable” on the label, it probably isn’t! Please double-check your coffee cup, and please don’t leave us with any plastic packaging. We do not accept any bio-solids.
We only accept items that are compostable. That means, no conventional plastics, no polyester tea bags, no fruit stickers, no rubber bands, twist ties, no candy wrappers, etc. (see more below)
We love composting fruit, veggies, meat and dairy, and every food in between. Fat & butter are accepted too, but try to keep them contained in a napkin or a compostable container! Washing grease-filled buckets take twice the time. Sticky doughs and sauces also apply.
If you have an unclear item, email us, or send us a picture and we will see what we can find out! If you love a restaurant but their to-go ware isn’t compostable, we suggest pointing them to Supply Squad, an excellent local resource for compostable and sustainable products.
Fighting Green-Washing is a group effort.
Help us keep micro-plastics out of our compost! We try to pull out items we notice are not compostable, but we can’t find it all.
We are so excited about the future of organics recycling, including big PLA potential. Compostable cups, lids, cutlery and more break down in our piles quickly! But compostables are still new and greenwashing is very real. We only accept items that state 100% Compostable, PLA, number 0, and more. Please check your items to see if they say that they are compostable- if they don’t, chances are they are not.
If your favorite restaurant is still using petroleum based plastic containers we recommend pointing them to our local compostables distributor! Learn more at: www.mysupplysquad.com.
Composting Tips & Tricks
Rule number one: if you don’t want it in your soil, don’t put it in the compost! Help us keep out micro plastics and contamination by double-checking whats going in the bin. One thing we know, petroleum based plastic never goes away.
We encourage everyone to interact with their waste, pull out contamination becasue we can’t catch it all. Listed below are more details on containers.
Help us keep our stream clean!
We only accept items that have the label BPI Certified Compostable.
If there is no label, you can assume it’s made from petroleum plastic. Those go in the garbage and are not compostable or recyclable in Montana. If the label says “Bio-degradable” That does not mean compostable and often means it’s made with a mixture of compostable and non-compostable materials & we do not accept that.
• Conventional Coffee Cups (no labeling) = not compostable
• Clamshells or brown foldpacks= not compostable
• Juice/Milk cartons, ice cream containers = not compostable
• Nylon Tea Bags= not compostable Nylon bags are made from plastic.
“Wishful” recycling & composting harms the process. If we find something not compostable, we will try our best to leave it behind in your bucket.
As a small team, we greatly appreciate our composters who double and triple-check what goes into the bucket!
Our Compost Partners
We couldn’t exist without the support of our local community! Thank you to our composting partners. We continue to add new partners and grow each day!
Ready for your office or business to compost? Contact us to get set up today!
We love ALL of our community partners, some of them are highlighted below…
… And SO many more!
get involved
We are always looking for partners, volunteers, and collaborators.
Currently seeking helpers for farmer’s markets and events. We welcome volunteer days and offer tours for offices, local businesses, schools, camps, and more.
Please contact us here or email us at: info@happytrashcan.net to reach out!