Iowans send about a billion pounds of compostable food waste to landfills each year; which is about 20% of all waste. Within the state, only two landfill sites offer a wide-scale compost program.

One of these sites is the Iowa City Landfill and Recycling Center. Servicing about 16,500 households, this facility says about one-fourth of its customers utilize compost services. The landfill hopes to gradually increase this amount to help eliminate food waste as an issue contributing to methane emissions.