Ellsworth Expands Composting Options with Launch of New Transfer Station Pilot Program
New free drop-off site joins school, neighborhood, and curbside composting options as Ellsworth works to keep food scraps out of the waste stream
ELLSWORTH, Maine – Ellsworth residents will soon have more ways to turn food scraps into something useful instead of sending them into the waste stream. Residents will also have a way to reduce the cost of solid waste disposal for themselves and the City.
The City of Ellsworth is preparing to launch a free food composting pilot program at the Ellsworth Transfer Station, part of a broader effort that is expanding composting opportunities across the community.
The new Transfer Station program is one of the first projects moving forward through the City’s $74,000 Community Action Grant, announced in July 2026. The grant supports several initiatives focused on waste reduction, local food access, emergency preparedness, and community resilience.
The Transfer Station is only one piece of Ellsworth’s growing composting effort.
Working with Green Ellsworth’s Waste Management Action Team, Chickadee Compost, the Ellsworth School Department, and other community partners, Ellsworth now has several composting opportunities available or underway:
- Free Transfer Station drop-off: A new pilot program will allow Ellsworth residents to bring food scraps to designated compost collection bins at the Ellsworth Transfer Station at no additional cost.
- Expanded school composting: Food composting, previously underway at Ellsworth Elementary Middle School, is expanding to Ellsworth High School. Community Action Grant funding will support additional collection by Chickadee Compost and new bins, while a grant from Hannaford helped the schools expand the program.
- Neighborhood drop-off: Residents may use the existing community food scrap drop-off location at Fogtown Brewing Company at 25 Pine Street, Ellsworth or propose other neighborhood collection sites of the same nature.
- Curbside collection: Chickadee Compost also offers an optional fee-based curbside food scrap collection program in select areas of Ellsworth’s urban core.
Together, these options give residents different ways to participate based on what works best for their household while helping the City and its partners learn which approaches are most effective and sustainable over the long term.
“This is about making composting easier and more accessible,” said Twila Fisher, Director of Economic Development for the City of Ellsworth. “Instead of one option, we’re building several ways for people to participate. At the same time, these pilot programs will give us real information about participation, costs, and how much of Ellsworth’s food scraps we can keep out of our traditional waste stream.”
All types of food, including meat, shellfish, and dairy can be composted. With 40% of Maine’s waste by weight composed of organic, compostable materials, this new free program offers multiple benefits for Ellsworth citizens. People who contribute to the composting project stand to reduce their cost for trash removal by up to 40%, and in turn the City and its taxpayers stand to significantly reduce the cost of their waste management program.
The Community Action Grant calls for the City and its partners to evaluate the composting pilots, including the amount of food waste diverted, participation, program costs and potential long-term funding options. This information will help determine whether programs should continue, expand or be modified in the future.
The composting initiative is a collaborative effort involving the City of Ellsworth, Green Ellsworth, Chickadee Compost, the Ellsworth School Department, and Hancock County Planning Commission.
The official opening of the Transfer Station composting site is Wednesday, September 2, 2026.
