Answer: It Depends on the Program

Municipal programs that use commercial composting facilities (Chicago, Kansas City, DC, NYC smart bins) accept meat and fish. Community garden programs and smaller drop-offs generally do not. Always check your specific program's accepted materials list.

Programs That Accept Meat and Fish

These programs explicitly accept meat, fish, bones, and seafood shells:

  • Chicago Food Scrap Drop-Off — All meat, poultry, fish, and bones accepted. One of the most permissive programs in the Midwest.
  • Kansas City Compost Program — All food scraps including meat and fish accepted at all 13+ locations.
  • Washington DC Smart Bins — Meat, bones, dairy, and food-soiled paper all accepted.
  • NYC Smart Composting Bins (orange bins) — All food scraps including meat, bones, shells, and dairy.
  • Portland, OR — Curbside and drop-off programs accept meat and fish including bones.

Programs That Do NOT Accept Meat or Fish

Community garden programs, most farmers market drop-offs, and smaller community-run sites typically exclude meat and fish:

  • NYC GrowNYC greenmarket drop-offs (plant-based only)
  • Most community garden programs nationwide
  • Many nonprofit-run programs that use small-scale composting on-site
  • Minneapolis — varies by site, check your specific location

Why the Rules Differ

Meat and fish attract pests, produce strong odors, and require high heat to break down safely. Commercial composting facilities can handle this. Open-pile community composting cannot. For more on why, see our guide: Why some programs accept meat and others don't.

What to Do If Your Program Doesn't Accept Meat

Your options:

  • Compost everything else and continue trashing meat scraps — even partial composting significantly reduces landfill impact
  • Check if a municipal program in your city or a neighboring city accepts meat
  • Use a private composting subscription service that accepts all food scraps
  • Freeze meat scraps until you can access a program that accepts them

Frequently Asked Questions

Same rules as meat. Programs that accept meat and fish generally also accept fish bones, seafood shells (shrimp, crab, lobster), and oyster shells. Oyster shells are sometimes treated separately as a soil amendment rather than compost — check your specific program's guidance.
Programs that accept meat generally accept both raw and cooked. This includes leftover chicken, beef scraps, fish fillets, and any other protein. The distinction between raw and cooked doesn't matter composting-wise at the commercial level — both break down the same way.