Free Composting Training Unlocks Access to Eight City Park Hubs

A free training session Saturday morning at Villa Parke will give Pasadena residents access to any of the city’s eight community compost hubs, three-bin systems in parks where food scraps are turned into nutrient-rich compost.

The Department of Public Works will hold the training Feb. 7 at the Villa Parke Community Compost Hub, outside the community center at 363 East Villa St., with an English session from 10:30 to 11 a.m. and a Spanish session from 11 to 11:30 a.m. No registration is required, according to the city.

The hubs accept food waste including fruit and vegetable scraps, coffee grounds and egg shells. Residents who complete the training receive a welcome packet with a lock combination and instructions, granting them access to any hub whenever the parks are open, according to the city’s Public Works Department.

Pasadena’s composting network has grown from a single hub at McDonald Park in 2021 to eight locations across the city:

• McDonald Park,
•  Villa Parke,
• Allendale Park,
• Victory Park,
• La Pintoresca Park,
• Brookside Park,
• Singer Park and
• Memorial Park.

The city reports more than 300 registered members and more than 10,000 pounds of organic waste diverted from landfills as of November 2025.

The program gained regional attention in November when officials from Ventura County Public Works visited Pasadena’s McDonald Park hub to study the model for possible replication, according to Pasadena Now.

The hubs are part of Pasadena’s compliance with California’s SB 1383, a 2016 state law that requires jurisdictions to reduce organic waste sent to landfills by 75 percent. Food waste accounts for roughly 17 to 18 percent of total landfill disposal in California, according to the city’s Public Works Department. The composting program also supports the city’s Zero Waste Pasadena 2040 initiative, adopted in 2005 under the United Nations Urban Environmental Accords.

The program operates under Public Works Director Greg de Vinck, who took over the department in December 2024, according to the city.

Residents who cannot attend Saturday’s training can complete a virtual version online at CityOfPasadena.net/CompostHubs. For more information about organics recycling in Pasadena, residents can visit CityOfPasadena.net/Recycle or call (626) 744-7311.

The city holds compost hub trainings periodically throughout the year at different hub locations. Saturday’s session is the next opportunity for residents to join a network that, according to the city, has kept more than five tons of food waste out of area landfills since the first bin was installed.