Residential Food Scrap Collection Service
Convenient weekly pickup – right from your front step! Currently, our residential collection service offers two different subscription tiers as well as a wide range of perks.
Currently, we are servicing residents in the Bay City, Saginaw, Flint and Birch Run areas. Not in our service area, but still interested in our service? Send us a message!
Give A Scrap - Right at Home!
By Giving A Scrap, you’re on your way to reducing your carbon footprint – that is, by returning what came from the earth back to the earth! For a small monthly fee, we will provide you with containers to hold your food scraps and convenient weekly service from your front door. We record the weight of the food scraps collected and let you know each much how, together, we’re making a difference. Food scraps are taken to 5Heart Earthworm Farm in Birch Run, MI, where they will be fed to hungry red worms and turned into nutrient-rich worm castings – a natural soil amendment used to improve plant health!
Provided Supplies
Within a business week of subscribing, you will be contacted and provided with program info, your weekly pickup day, a 1-gallon kitchen pail and a storage bucket (with lid) to hold food scraps between collection days. That’s all you need!
Reliable Service
The week after supplies delivery, place your bucket of food scraps on your porch or doorstep on your scheduled day. Collection staff will pick up and weigh your bucket on the same day each week.
Added Perks
Each year on your subscription anniversary you earn a 5-gallon bucket of 5Heart Premium Worm Castings. Choose to keep the castings, or we’ll donate it to a local parks department on your behalf. All subscribers also receive a monthly e-newsletter with information on the positive impacts they’re making with Give A Scrap. Sign up for our text alerts to get a monthly certificate with personalized totals!
Our Rates
Frequently Asked Questions
Who provides this service?
Give A Scrap is provided by Iris Waste Diversion Specialists. Please direct all questions, comments, and concerns to us by calling 855-2GO-ZERO (855-246-9376) or by emailing info@iriswds.com. You can also visit our website, www.iriswds.com, for more details.
How will payments work?
Your monthly subscription fee will automatically be taken from the payment method you provided on file. Your billing cycle will reoccur on the same date each month, coinciding with your original subscription date. For example, if you subscribed on the 5th of the month, your billing cycle will be on the 5th of each month.
What do I have to do?
You are responsible for following the program guidelines. We are happy to clarify your questions about the acceptance of certain food items. If you have the basic subscription service, you are responsible for the cleanliness of your storage containers.
Where will my food scraps go?
Your food scraps will be delivered to 5Heart Earthworm Farm in Birch Run, MI, where they will be turned into worm castings. These castings are a natural alternative to fertilizer that improves soil health and boosts plant growth.
Can I use a compostable liner in my collection containers?
Compostable liners are not accepted in this program. Compostable products are designed to break down in high temperatures that are achieved at large-scale composting operations. All the scraps collected in this program will be broken down at a worm farm, which does not produce the required temperatures to handle them. To help absorb liquids in the bucket, try lining it with newspaper – the worms will break that down too!
Will i get information about how much food scraps i have kept out of the landfill?
Yes! We report the total amount collected from all our subscribers in every newsletter. SMS 9text) messaging subscribers receive environmental impact information specific to their household’s participation.
What about bugs and pests?
Your collection pail and bucket will have secure lids to keep all pests out – including insects, rodents and more.
What if my food scraps start to smell?
Food scraps generally smell worse when they have a lack of oxygen, resulting in anaerobic decomposition (consider the smelly food scraps in your kitchen trash can!). Your kitchen pail has small perforations in its lid to allow for proper aeration, which means less unpleasant odors.
Reduce Your Carbon Footprint
Nutrients are meant to cycle naturally from the ground, into the food we grow and eat, and then back into the ground. When food scraps are sent to the landfill, they cannot decompose naturally and instead go through anaerobic decomposition, causing landfills to release methane (a potent greenhouse gas that has contributed to the warming of our climate and the weakening of our ozone layer).
On the other hand, composting your food scraps correctly results in a natural, microbially diverse, and nutrient-rich soil enhancer that makes plants thrive!
Simplify Your Routine
Our collection materials are easy to use and transport! Each kitchen pail and collection bucket has a handle and secure lid for worry-free transportation and emptying, and they’re the perfect size for storing inside the kitchen, garage, or just about any other room in your home. Having a food scrap collection pail right next to your food prep area can save you trips to the trash can and speed up your prep time. Additionally, having a designated food scrap pickup service means less trips to your outdoor trash cart and less messy trash overall. A win for you is a win for us!
Reduce Unpleasant Odors
Speaking of messy trash…
With Give A Scrap, you’ll no longer need to worry about a foul odor coming from your kitchen trash can every time you open the lid. Our kitchen pails allow just enough air to enter so that the food scraps do not begin to anaerobically decompose, which is often the source of these foul odors. Plus, with pickup occurring on a weekly basis, your food scraps often won’t have enough time to start decomposing before they’re gone!