Composting

Where to Buy Compost:

  • This product is sold by the Essex-Windsor Solid Waste Authority. It is available at the Public Drop Off Depot, in the Yard Waste Area, (Central Avenue at North Service Road East) while quantities last! Read more about compost sales.

Purchase Price:

  • Pre-bagged: $3.50 per bag or 4 bags for $12.00
  • Bag Your Own: $4.00 per bag (we supply the yard waste bag, you bring the shovel. Bag holds approximately 45 to 65 pounds)
  • Bulk Loads: $15.00 per yard. Mechanical loading provided, please bring a tarp for your load.
  • Delivery: Delivery is available for large quantities of compost by appointment only. Call 1-800-563-3377.
  • Windsor, Essex, LaSalle and Tecumseh: $79.95 delivery, tax included, plus $15.00 per cubic yard of compost.
  • Amherstburg, Leamington, Kingsville, Lakeshore: $109.95 delivery, tax included, plus $15.00 per cubic yard of compost.

Note: Prices are subject to change without notice. Call 1-800-563-3377 to confirm current pricing or email at ask@ewswa.org

Backyard Composting, The Secret is in the Recipe:

  • All you need is a 50:50 ratio of brown materials and green materials.
  • Brown materials (carbon based) consist of items like leaves, sawdust, and straw, etc.
  • Green materials (nitrogen based) consist of items like food scraps and garden waste, etc.
  • Add some water to keep it moist, and remember to stir it up to add oxygen.
  • Wait a few months, and you'll have gardener's gold: compost!

Some Acceptable Materials in Your Composter:

  • Food: apples and peels, bananas and peels, beans, berries, bread, carrots, citrus rinds, coffee grinds and disposable filters, cucumbers, egg shells, grapes, lettuce, melon, onion, pears, pineapples, potatoes and peels, pumpkin, squash, tea leaves, teabags and zucchinis.
  • Other: bone meal, blood meal, cornstalks, dryer lint, flowers, garden waste, grass (dried), hair, hay, leaves, peat moss, sawdust, soil, straw, string, vines, weeds (before seeding) and wood ash.
  • No meat, dairy, oils or fish.

Note: This is not a comprehensive list. Other fruits, vegetables and organic material may be included in your backyard composter. Call Essex Windsor Solid Waste Authority at 1-800-563-3377 for info.

Public Works, Environmental Division
3540 North Service Road East
Windsor, Ontario
Canada
N8W 5X2

Phone: For general information, please call the Essex Windsor Solid Waste Authority (EWSWA) 519-944-3421.
Fax: (519) 944-3161
Email: pubwork@citywindsor.ca