Solana Center for Environmental Innovation (Food Cycle Program)
Solana Center offers Food Cycle, a composting program for local homes and businesses. Instead of throwing food waste away, customers can drop-off their food waste at Solana Center’s facility and have it processed into organic soil. Participating customers may also return once the compost is processed to take home free organic soil great for gardening.
The Food Cycle processing center also acts as a demonstration project for hyper-local food waste diversion. The service is kept low-cost thanks to generous donations from our sponsors.
Help us close the loop between organic waste and healthy soil in San Diego; enroll in our Food Cycle Program today!
Check out our FAQ page or contact foodcycle@solanacenter.org if you have additional questions.
How does it work?
It’s easy! Food Cycle members can add all types of food waste because we use the bokashi method of composting, which increases the types of acceptable waste. Bokashi pre-processing allows participants to dispose of all organic material (including proteins) and to retain until the bucket is full. This pre-composting step allows stockpiling for fewer drop-offs by participants and reduces potential odors and vectors. Find out more about bokashi here.
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Become a member: Residents can join the Food Cycle program with a $52 start-up package which includes a 5-gallon bucket, bokashi bran, and an option between two monthly membership fees:
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- Basic Membership is $15/month, covering 1 full bucket drop-off each visit
- Expanded Membership is $25/month, covering 2 full buckets each visit
- Signing up for your business? Contact Solana Center directly for business-specific details and pricing.
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Set up your system: Bring home your food collection 5-gallon bucket and bokashi bran. We’ll walk you through how it all works when you sign up, but here are some tips!
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Divert your food scraps: Collect all food waste at home or in the office into the 5-gallon bucket. Sprinkle bokashi bran on top of every 2-3 inches of food waste and keep the lid sealed to reduce odors. Repeat until the bucket is full.
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Swap out at Solana Center: Once the bucket is full, bring it back to Solana Center for processing and collect a new clean bucket.
