Greening the Holidays: Composting Your Festive Waste

12/11/25

The holiday season brings joy, celebration, and, more often than not, a lot of food. No matter what you celebrate, it’s common to end up with unwanted food scraps. Reducing and composting organic waste is one of many actions in the County of San Diego’s Climate Action Plan (CAP) and a goal of Senate Bill 1383 with a goal of creating a countywide culture of avoiding, recycling, and composting waste. Learn how to prevent waste during this holiday season, and explore how composting can benefit your home and our environment!

Turning Holiday Scraps into Something Useful

Holiday cooking often results in a mix of vegetable peels, plate scraps, leftover ingredients, and even the occasional batch of burnt cookies. Instead of tossing them into the trash, these items serve as great building blocks for compost. Compost is a simple, effective soil amendment that supports your home and the environment by:

  • Boosting soil health and fertility, which increases plants’ resilience to pests, disease, and other environmental stressors;
  • Helping soil retain moisture, which reduces the frequency of watering and minimizes erosion; and
  • Saving money through water conservation and the reduced need to purchase commercial fertilizers.

How to Start Composting at Home

Residents in the unincorporated area can start composting through several different ways:

Composting

Compost Bin Voucher Program: Check out how to receive a backyard compost bin through the County’s Department of Public Works.

Curbside Organics Collection: Dispose food scraps and food-soiled paper like paper towels and napkins, along with leaves, flowers, and other yard waste in your green curbside bins.

Free Composing Workshops: Attend an upcoming workshop with Solana Center to learn hands-on tips for starting or improving your compost at home.

Compost It Yourself Guide: Explore the process of setting up a compost bin, what to add, how often to turn, and much more!

Can I Compost It?

Composting

In addition to food scraps, you can also sustainably dispose of holiday waste. Here’s a quick guide of what can and cannot go into your compost bin!

Wrapping Paper or Holiday Cards – YES (if pure paper)!
After the holiday season ends, you can shred and compost wrapping paper and holiday cards that don’t contain plastic, foil, glitter, or wax coatings. If you’re adding these shredded materials to your curbside bin, make sure you place them into a paper bag and roll the bag closed.

Holiday Deserts Gone Awry – YES!
You can still compost any cooked meals that have gone wrong, such as burnt cookies or bread.

Bones or Meat Scraps – IT DEPENDS!
It’s best to keep bones and meat scraps out of your backyard compost bins. However, they can be added to your curbside bin. Wrap these items in a paper bag before tossing them into your curbside green bin. Learn more tips on how to manage food scraps in your green bin.

Natural Holiday Wreaths – YES!
Once you remove any additional decorations, such as ornaments or bows, wreaths made from real greenery can be composted.

To explore how the County’s CAP is advancing waste reduction, composting access, and other sustainability goals in your community, please visit the CAP website. You can also stay connected by signing up for our monthly newsletter, and following us on Facebook, Instagram, and X.