Helping Tucson Businesses Reduce Their Food Waste
The only commercial composting operation accepting food waste in Southern Arizona, in close partnership with the City of Tucson Environmental Services. Interested in joining the FoodCycle program? Fill out our Interest Form below!
Closing the Loop
What is FoodCycle?
A commercial food waste collection program that accepts pre-and post-consumer food waste
Operated in partnership with the City of Tucson Environmental & General Services & University of Arizona Compost Cats
Largest municipal-university commercial compost program in the country
Only commercial food waste composting service in Southern Arizona
Commercial food waste is a serious issue in the United States. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, in 2018, 103 million tons of food waste was generated in the US and approximately 31 million tons were generated from the commercial sector alone. The FoodCycle program was developed by the University of Arizona Compost Cats and the City of Tucson Environmental Services to reduce and divert commercial food waste in our community.
FoodCycle offers a full-service collection program for businesses that generate organic waste, including food scraps, brown waste, and/or manure. The service transforms food and brown waste into compost, a nutrient-rich soil amendment. Some current FoodCycle participants include Hotel Congress, the Tucson Convention Center, Snooze Eatery, and Reid Park Zoo.
The City of Tucson and UArizona Compost Cats work together to provide educational support to FoodCycle program partners, maintain compost operations at the Los Reales Composting Facility, and redistribute finished compost throughout the community. Compost is donated to public areas like City parks, the University of Arizona campus, local farms, and community gardens.
How Does the Service Work?
- Participants receive training materials and plastic containers, depending on their volume, to fill with the organic waste they generate
- Additional training is provided on an as-needed basis or as requested by participants
- Compost Cats conducts onboarding training with all employees to set customers up for success while participating in the program
- Compost Cats conducts audits of food waste at regular intervals to ensure quality control
- Containers are emptied once a week and the organic waste is taken to the Los Reales Composting Facility where it is mixed with carbon sources and turned into compost
- The compost is then redistributed throughout the community
Your Business Can Get Involved Too!
Any organization that generates organic waste within the City of Tucson limits can sign up for service, including:
Grocery Stores
Restaurants
Schools
Golf Courses
Hotels & Resorts
Parks
Landscaping Businesses
Food Co-ops
Zoos & Farms
FoodCycle Works
Instead of ending up in landfills, food waste will be used to create compost—a valuable resource that can be incorporated back into our community!
All of the compost produced at the Los Reales Composting Facility is currently donated to public areas in Tucson, including City parks, the University of Arizona grounds, local farms, TUSD school gardens, and community gardens.
Join our program to make a difference in your community and become a leader in reducing food waste! We are slowly adding new businesses while working on expansion plans. If you are interested in joining our growing wait list, please fill out the FoodCycle interest form at the top of this webpage.
