Lakewood Food Scrap Drop Off Program

Home composting made easy—and affordable—for Lakewood residents.

Lakewood residents can now drop off food scraps at convenient sites across the city for only $5/month! Through a new partnership with local hauler Compost Colorado, the city of Lakewood is making composting more accessible and affordable— helping you reduce waste while keeping food scraps out of the landfill.

Learn More and Sign Up

How the program works

Residents subscribe through Compost Colorado (CoCo) for $5/month.
Receive a personal access code to unlock any CoCo drop-off cart.
Drop off food scraps anytime, at any CoCo location—not just Lakewood’s.
CoCo services and cleans the carts regularly.
Food scraps are processed into compost at CoCo’s local facility here in Denver.
In spring, subscribers receive some compost back for their yards and gardens, completing the compost loop!

Resources to help you get started

Free community workshops in January–February 2026 (dates coming soon).
Free kitchen compost caddy for enrolled residents (while supplies last).

Drop-Off Locations

Lakewood will open five new City-owned drop sites (one in each Ward) in January 2026. CoCo already operates three additional drop sites in Lakewood—bringing the total to eight.

New City Sites (Opening mid-January 2026):

Ward 1: Quail Street Recycling Center
Ward 2: Charles Whitlock Recreation Center
Ward 3: Lakewood Link Recreation Center
Ward 4: Ute Trail Park
Ward 5: Carmody Recreation Center

Locations

(Locations may change over time; always check the map.)

What you can compost

Composting rules differ across the Front Range because each facility processes materials differently. Haulers must follow the rules of the facility they use—so accepted items can vary from one program to another.

The good news: CoCo operates its own in-vessel facility, which means they can accept more items than most haulers, including BPI-certified compostable products.

Accepted Materials