Don’t send food waste and paper towels to the landfill! Send them to a commercial composting facility where they can help cut greenhouse gas emissions and reduce the need for water, fertilizer and pesticides.

Residents and businesses can sign up for a subscription composting program with Collective Resource Compost. This Evanston-based company offers its container-swap service in more than 50 communities in the Chicagoland area, and service is expanding to Hoffman Estates.

Customers receive 5-gallon buckets or 32-gallon totes for swap-outs every 2 (biweekly) or 4 weeks. Either size container can be shared with your neighbors, friends or relatives! Service is available to residential customers in both single-family homes and multi-unit dwellings like condos or apartments, as well as restaurants, schools, offices and institutions. Subscribers can choose to pay per pickup, quarterly (5% discount), or annually (10% discount). Contact Collective Resource for current pricing.

Anything that was "once alive” can be composted, including vegetables, fruits, animal products and food-soiled paper. Composting customers receive 10 gallons of complimentary finished compost each spring to use in their own gardens, bringing the process full circle.

To get started, visit www.collectiveresource.us and complete the contact form to sign up.