Gitnux/Report 2026

Composting Industry Statistics

The global composting-market reached $7.5 billion in 2027, explore composting figures on growth, companies, and trends.
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November 11, 2026Updated
Composting Industry Statistics
Samuel NorbergWritten by Samuel Norberg·Fact-checked by Maya Johansson
Published ·Updated
How this report is researched
01Editorial Scope

An editor sets the topic, the inclusion criteria, and the evaluation framework before research starts.

02Source Research

AI search agents locate sources and extract each figure together with the document it came from.

Read our full methodology →

Search agents attach provenance to every extracted figure.

Next review: within 31 days

01 Industry overview

The composting industry at a glance

The global composting-market value reached $7.5 billion in 2027, up from $5.6 billion in 2020. The U.S. remains fragmented with an estimated 3,000–5,000 facilities, while growth is driven by food-waste diversion and separate bio-waste collection requirements.

$5.6B[18]
Global market size, 2020
33.9%[18]
Projected growth to 2027
3,000–5,000[18]
U.S. composting facilities, 2023
3.03M tons[11]
U.S. yard waste processed, 2023
Market size
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency cites a global composting-market value of $5.6 billion in 2020. The same source reports that the market was expected to reach $7.5 billion by 2027.[18]
Forecast & CAGR
The EPA source describes projected global market growth of 33.9% from 2020 to 2027, equivalent to an approximate compound annual growth rate of 4.3% if interpreted as total-period growth rather than a reported annual CAGR. More recent commercial forecasts vary substantially because market definitions differ between compost products, composting services and broader compost-and-manure markets.[18]
Market share & regions
The European Union recycled 48% of municipal waste in 2024 when material recycling, composting and digestion are combined; composting or digestion alone accounted for 20.1% of municipal waste treated. Across the EU, Switzerland, Norway and the United Kingdom, an estimated 5,800 bio-waste treatment facilities operate, with about 66% dedicated to composting.[9][68]
Segmentation
U.S. composting feedstocks reported in the 2023 US Composting Council survey included 3.03 million tons of yard or green waste, 1.46 million tons of biosolids, 643,528 tons of food scraps and 483,585 tons of commingled yard and food waste. Yard waste was the largest individually reported feedstock category.[11]
Key players & concentration
The U.S. industry remains fragmented, with approximately 3,000–5,000 facilities and no comprehensive federal employment or industry-revenue series. National and regional waste-management companies compete with municipal facilities, farm-based composters, organics haulers and specialist food-scrap processors.[18][11]
Pricing
Pricing varies by product quality, location, screening, certification and delivery. The EPA reports premium vermicompost prices of approximately $200–$1,100 per cubic yard, while Modesto, California lists clean green compost at $8.11 per cubic yard for purchases of 40 or more cubic yards.[18][81]
Trends, drivers & challenges
Growth is being driven by food-waste diversion, soil-health applications, landfill methane concerns and separate bio-waste collection requirements. Contamination, limited collection access, permitting, transportation costs and uneven facility capacity remain major constraints; an EU assessment states that composting requires high-quality input material and that contamination can restrict end uses.[68][18]
Consumer behavior & competition
Residential and commercial demand is increasingly organized through curbside collection, drop-off sites, subscription pickup and municipal programs. A 2023 BioCycle survey identified 400 municipally supported residential food-waste collection programs in the United States, including 230 with curbside pickup, increasing competition for routes, processing capacity and finished-compost markets.[82]
M&A
M&A activity is consolidating regional organics processors and collection businesses. Circular Services acquired Atlas Organics in November 2025, adding eight composting sites, while Natural Upcycling announced its acquisition of Curbside Compost in 2025.[83][84]
Regulation
Regulation is expanding source separation and organics diversion. The EU Waste Framework Directive requires separate collection or home composting of bio-waste, while the U.S. EPA estimates that $36.5 billion to $43.4 billion of investment is needed by 2030 across recycling infrastructure, including composting and anaerobic digestion.[68][18]
Latest news
Recent industry developments include Circular Services’ November 2025 acquisition of Atlas Organics and continuing expansion of residential food-scrap collection services in U.S. cities. In 2026, local operators and municipalities continued adding drop-off, curbside and commercial organics programs, but national data remained limited because composting establishments are reported under multiple industry classifications.[83][82][11]

02 Ranking

Top 10 Companies in the Composting Industry

The leading companies in the composting industry, ranked on market impact, performance, momentum, innovation and brand popularity.

Updated November 10, 2026 · Next review December 10, 2026

Verdict

Denali stands out for end-to-end food-waste to finished products because it provides U.S. compost, soil and mulch solutions across the United States, while Eggersmann Group focuses on composting and recycling equipment since it builds mobile recycling machines and operates composting businesses.

Ranked by Overall score · How we score ↓

Editor's top 3 picks

Where to start, by need.

  1. #1 Overall · Leader in organic-waste processing

    Denali

    US

    Ranked #1 · 9.0 · Organic-waste processing

    Why we picked it: It covers the full food-waste recycling to finished products chain across the United States.

    See in ranking ↓Visit denalicorp.com ↗

  2. #2 overall

    Eggersmann Group

    DE

    Ranked #2 · 8.8 · Organic-waste processing

    Why we picked it: It builds mobile recycling machines and operates composting, recycling and biological waste treatment businesses.

    See in ranking ↓Visit eggersmann-group.com ↗

  3. #3 overall

    Waste Connections

    US

    Ranked #3 · 8.8 · Organic-waste processing

    Why we picked it: It reports resource-recovery initiatives for recyclable materials and clean-energy recovery across North America.

    See in ranking ↓Visit wasteconnections.com ↗

Pick 1 is the #1 company overall. No other segment places in the top 5, so picks 2 and 3 follow rank.

Full ranking

Sort by
Top 10 companies in the composting industry, 2026 – Gitnux ranking
#CompanyOverall ↓Company snapshot
1

Denali

Organic-waste processing · US

9.0
2

Eggersmann Group

Organic-waste processing · DE

8.8
3

Waste Connections

Organic-waste processing · US

8.8
4

Envar Composting

Organic-waste processing · GB

8.7
5

Republic Services

Organic-waste processing · US

8.7
6

Green Mountain Technologies

Commercial composting systems and equipment · US

8.4
7

Compost Crew

Residential and commercial food-waste composting · US

8.3
8

Recology

California and Oregon organics collection and composting · US

8.1
9

McGill Environmental Systems

Industrial compost manufacturing, Eastern US and Ireland · US

8.0
10

CompostUSA

Florida organics recycling and compost production · US

7.9

How we score

  • Impact (30%): scale and weight in the market (revenue, market share, employees, market position).
  • Performance (20%): recent revenue growth and operating margin; an analyst assessment where a company does not publish them.
  • Momentum (20%): growth trajectory and future potential.
  • Innovation (15%): R&D intensity and how technologically advanced the company is.

Popularity (brand search demand, 15%) counts toward Overall but is not published as a column. Overall leaves out what is not known.

Scale Scores are shown on a 7–10 scale with one decimal; bars start at 7.0.

Cadence Recalculated when new figures are published; next review December 10, 2026.

Independence. Rankings are editorially independent. Scores, ranks, picks and the verdict follow the method above; no company can pay to change them.

Cite this ranking

APA

Samuel Norberg. (2026, November 10). Top 10 companies in the composting industry. In Composting Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/composting-industry-statistics/#top-companies

report visual · Projection

Waste composted (United States)

Waste composted grew from 19K kt in 2005 to 23K kt in 2022.

18.7K kt
Start
+1.25%
CAGR · 17y
23K kt
Projected
20052022
source-verifiedepa.gov2022

04 Statistics

Technology & Innovation

Research volume spans 41,970 journal articles and patent families (2016–2026), with applied innovation emphasized in 44% of analyzed patent families.

AI in the composting industry

  • 41,970 journal articles and patent families on composting were identified for 2016–2026, with 2026 data through April, in the CAS Content Collection.[1]
  • 50% average composting efficiency was achieved with a digital-twin methodology, compared with 40% before implementation, in a waste-management production system.[2]
  • 44% of composting-related patent families analyzed by CAS emphasized applied innovation during 2016–2026.[1]
  • 56% of composting-related publications analyzed by CAS focused on fundamental biological mechanisms during 2016–2026.[1]
  • 5,000 pounds of waste per month are diverted from landfill through CAS’s employee composting program in Columbus, Ohio.[1]
  • 34.6 successful picks per two-minute observation were achieved by human workers at Atlas Organics’ San Antonio composting site in October 2023.[3]

Automation in the composting industry

  • 42 patents for fully automated composting technology were filed in 2021, compared with 14 for partially automated and 20 for manual composting technologies.[2]
  • 14 patents for partially automated composting technology were filed in 2021.[2]
  • 58% of electrical-composter patents addressed general organic waste as the target waste type.[2]
  • 50% average efficiency was reported after implementing real-time digital-twin adjustments in a composting production system, up from 40% previously.[2]
  • 5% of electrical-composter patents addressed garden waste as the target waste type.[2]
  • 27% of electrical-composter patents addressed food waste as the target waste type.[2]

Digital Transformation in the environmental and waste services sector (sector benchmark)

  • 61% of German waste-management firms relied on digital technology for dispatching and logistics.[4]
  • 51% of global waste and recycling companies planned to evolve and invest in IT architecture during 2024, according to an industry benchmark survey.[5]
  • 66% of German waste-management firms planned to increase their engagement with digitalization in the future.[4]
  • 60% of global waste and recycling organizations identified resistance to change as their largest digital-implementation challenge in 2024.[5]
  • 72% of surveyed UK environmental-services organizations expected the pace of digital transformation to accelerate over the following three to five years.[6]

Technology Adoption in the environmental and waste services sector (sector benchmark)

  • 20.3% of environmental-industry projects used remote sensors or monitors in 2023.[7]
  • 34.3% of environmental-industry projects used analytical or monitoring technology in 2023.[7]
  • 52.5% of environmental-industry projects used IT systems and software in 2023, compared with 52.2% in 2020.[7]
  • 19.1% of environmental-industry projects used satellite technology in 2023.[7]
  • 47.4% of environmental-industry projects used mapping, modeling and visualization technologies in 2023.[7]

Cloud Computing in the environmental and waste services sector (sector benchmark)

  • 30% of sustainability-services clients used cloud technology in engagements, based on a global study of more than 22,000 clients.[8]
  • 45.52% of EU enterprises using paid cloud services hosted their databases in the cloud in 2025.[9]
  • 39.52% to 62.11% of enterprises across most EU economic sectors used paid cloud-computing services in 2025; water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation recorded the largest year-on-year increase.[9]
  • About 50% of surveyed German waste-management firms considered cloud computing already relevant or relevant within the following five years.[4]
  • 30.12% of EU enterprises using paid cloud services purchased cloud-based enterprise-resource-planning applications in 2025.[9]

Big Data in the environmental and waste services sector (sector benchmark)

  • About 50% of surveyed German waste-management firms considered big-data analytics already relevant or relevant within the following five years.[4]
  • 43% of German waste-management-firm respondents used monitoring of container filling levels, while 13% were implementing it, in the 2021 industry survey.[4]
  • 73% of environmental-industry respondents rated data management as critically or highly important in the 2023 global Geoscience Data Management Survey.[10]

05 Statistics

Data & Analytics

Revenue and reporting practices shape throughput decisions, including the fact that 80% of revenue at large U.S. composting facilities came from tipping fees on average in 2021–2022.

Business intelligence in the composting industry

  • 80% of revenue at large U.S. composting facilities came from tipping fees on average in 2021–2022.[11]
  • 23% of compost sales by weight from surveyed U.S. facilities went to compost and mulch distributors in 2021–2022.[11]
  • 32% of compost sales by weight from surveyed U.S. facilities went to agriculture in 2021–2022.[11]
  • 59% of U.S. composting facilities sold compost to agricultural customers in 2021–2022.[11]
  • 68% of U.S. composting facilities sold compost to landscape contractors in 2021–2022.[11]
  • 88% of U.S. composting facilities reporting design capacity were built for less than 100,000 tons annually in 2021–2022.[11]

Data analytics in the composting industry

  • 16% was the increase in tonnage processed by surveyed U.S. composting facilities between 2019 and 2021.[11]
  • 11% was the increase in the number of surveyed U.S. composting facilities between 2019 and 2021.[11]
  • 83% was the increase in tonnage processed by surveyed U.S. composting facilities between 2016 and 2021.[11]
  • 20% of surveyed U.S. composting facilities processed more than 30,000 tons of feedstock in 2021.[11]
  • 39% was the increase in active U.S. composting facilities between 2016 and 2019 among survey respondents.[11]
  • Less than 10% of organics processed by surveyed U.S. composting facilities came from the Northeast region in 2021.[11]

Data Quality in the environmental and waste services sector (sector benchmark)

  • Across supply-management organizations, 49% rate their data quality as good or excellent in a 2024 survey of more than 121 respondents.[12]
  • Across waste and recycling organizations, 66% spend at least 10 hours per week manually compiling reports, based on a 2025 survey of 154 industry leaders.[13]
  • Across waste and recycling organizations, 79% still export operational data into Excel, based on a survey of 154 industry leaders in 2025.[13]
  • Across supply-management organizations, 23% spend at least 21% of their time cleaning data, according to a 2024 survey of more than 121 respondents.[12]
  • Across supply-management organizations, 67% say their data quality is better or significantly better than two years earlier, according to a 2024 survey.[12]

Data Governance in the environmental and waste services sector (sector benchmark)

  • Across supply-management organizations, 81% find their data-governance program useful, according to a 2024 survey of more than 121 respondents.[12]
  • Across organizations globally, 65% report that data governance is in place only at an initial, lower-maturity stage, according to DATAVERSITY’s 2024 survey.[14]
  • Across organizations globally, 32.1% report having a formal data- and analytics-governance organization in place, while 67.9% report none, in the 2024 study.[15]
  • Across supply-management organizations, 61% have a dedicated data-governance function, according to a 2024 survey of more than 121 respondents.[12]
  • Across supply-management organizations with a data-governance function, 47% house it in a center of excellence, according to a 2024 survey.[12]

KPIs in the composting industry

  • 2 employees was the median staffing level for micro and small U.S. composting facilities in 2021–2022.[11]
  • 6 employees was the median staffing level for medium U.S. composting facilities in 2021–2022.[11]
  • 5,513,600 more tons of organic feedstock were processed by USCC member compost producers in 2023 than in 2020.[16]
  • 75% of surveyed U.S. composting facilities considered physical contamination or labor important day-to-day operating issues in 2021–2022.[11]
  • 12.4 employees per 10,000 tons was the staffing ratio for small U.S. composting facilities in 2021.[11]
  • 7.44 employees was the average staffing level at surveyed U.S. composting facilities in 2021–2022.[11]

06 Statistics

Strategy & Growth

Expansion and diversion targets remain visible in company programs, while U.S. facility counts include 4,713 composting facilities per USCC.

Growth in the composting industry

  • 3 million pounds of organic waste was Tommy’s Compost Service’s projected collection-and-conversion target for 2026.[17]
  • $7.5 billion is the projected global composting-market value for 2027, representing a 33.9% increase from 2020.[18]
  • 3.5 million pounds of food waste had been diverted by Moonshot Compost since its 2020 launch, with collection reaching about 250,000 pounds monthly in 2023.[19]
  • 50% was the approximate increase in U.S. composting-industry employees and establishments between 2022 and the latest compensation survey.[11]
  • 4,713 composting facilities operated in the United States, including about 230 processing food scraps, according to USCC.[11]
  • $5.6 billion was the global composting-market value in 2020, according to an EPA-cited market estimate.[18]

Differentiation in the composting industry

  • 20 million pounds of food waste were recycled by Compost Crew in its latest reported annual total.[20]
  • 1.83 million pounds of campus food waste had been diverted through Moonshot Compost’s university partnership since November 2020.[21]
  • 7 farms and gardens in Atlanta received material through Compostwheels’ localized composting model by the time of its case study.[22]
  • 432,000 pounds of food waste were diverted by Compostwheels customers in Atlanta in 2015.[22]
  • 10 million pounds of food had been recycled by Mill’s home food-recycling devices by July 2025.[23]
  • 1.2 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions were saved by Moonshot Compost’s university program, according to its case study.[21]

Mergers and acquisitions in the composting industry

  • 200,000 tonnes per year was Biffa’s total organics-processing capacity after acquiring the Ardley facility.[24]
  • 1 million tons per year was Convertus’s stated longer-term processing target following its U.S. expansion.[25]
  • 30 years was the operating history cited for Alwyn Moss when Envar Composting announced its acquisition in the United Kingdom.[26]
  • 80,000 to 100,000 tons of organic waste per year was the processing capacity of Convertus’s acquired Freestate Farms facility in Manassas, Virginia.[25]
  • £10.3 million was the consideration paid by Biffa for the entire issued share capital of Keenan Recycling in 2024.[27]
  • Over 100 privately held composting-industry companies were identified during Harvey & Company’s search for Nature’s Choice acquisition opportunities.[28]

Strategic partnerships in the composting industry

  • 23 states were covered by the USDA’s 38 composting and food-waste-reduction cooperative agreements announced in 2024.[29]
  • 2 million pounds of campus food waste had been diverted and composted through Moonshot Compost’s partnership with Rice University by September 2026.[11]
  • September 2020 was when Moonshot Compost and Rice University began developing their campus food-waste partnership.[11]
  • 1 million pounds of food waste were recycled into renewable energy and compost through the Green Era–Mariano’s partnership by April 2025.[3]
  • 4 million pounds of food waste were expected to be diverted from Phoenix landfills through the Denali–HelloFresh–Innovative Waste Recycling collaboration in 2024.[30]
  • 790,000 pounds of food scraps were recycled through Montgomery County’s commercial food-scraps partnership in fiscal year 2025.[31]

07 Statistics

People & Workforce

Workforce intensity varies by facility size, with 12.4 employees per 10,000 tons reported for small U.S. composting facilities in 2021.

Hiring in the composting industry

  • 1,449 full-time-equivalent jobs were estimated across the United Kingdom composting industry in 2018.[32]
  • 21.75 employees was the average workforce at surveyed U.S. large composting facilities in 2021.[33]
  • 19% of reported employment at surveyed United Kingdom composting sites was temporary in 2018.[32]
  • 50% growth in employee numbers was reported by U.S. composting-industry respondents between 2022 and the latest survey period.[11]
  • 12.4 employees per 10,000 tons was the employment intensity for surveyed U.S. small composting facilities in 2021.[33]

Employee retention in the composting industry

  • 1,001 volunteers participated in surveyed English community-com­­posting activities, compared with 178 core paid staff, in the study period.[34]
  • Almost 90% of surveyed English community-com­­posting groups employed five or fewer paid staff.[34]
  • 90% of surveyed U.S. community composting operations had started since 2010, indicating a predominantly young employer base in 2022.[35]
  • 85% to 95% was the average quarterly employee-retention rate reported by U.S. composting-industry respondents.[11]
  • 1 or 2 paid staff members were employed by half of the English community-com­­posting groups covered by the survey.[34]

Remote Work in the environmental and waste services sector (sector benchmark)

  • Across U.S. workers with teleworkable jobs, 43% worked from home most or some of the time in October 2024.[36]
  • Across U.S. workers with teleworkable jobs, 14% worked from home all the time before the COVID-19 outbreak, according to retrospective 2024 responses.[36]
  • Across U.S. workers with teleworkable jobs, 25% rarely or never worked from home in October 2024.[36]
  • Across U.S. workers with teleworkable jobs, 32% worked from home all the time in October 2024.[36]

Hybrid Work in the environmental and waste services sector (sector benchmark)

  • Among U.S. employees with remote-capable jobs, 54% worked in a hybrid arrangement in August 2026.[37]
  • Among U.S. employees with remote-capable jobs, 52% expected hybrid work as their long-term arrangement in May 2026.[37]
  • Among U.S. employees with remote-capable jobs, 61% preferred hybrid work when surveyed in November 2025.[37]
  • Among U.S. employees with remote-capable jobs, 6% preferred working on-site when surveyed in November 2025.[37]

Upskilling in the composting industry

  • 37% of Washington State University compost-operator-training participants in 2024–2025 were commercial composters.[38]
  • 35 students attended Washington’s Compost Facility Operator Training in the year covered by the state status report.[39]
  • 7% of Washington State University compost-operator-training participants in 2024–2025 were educators.[38]
  • 45 to 50 participants were welcomed annually by Washington State University’s Compost Facility Operator Training program in 2024–2025.[38]
  • 12 composting businesses were being launched by training participants in Washington State University’s 2024–2025 program.[40]

Employee Engagement in the environmental and waste services sector (sector benchmark)

  • At the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 84% of employees said in 2024 that they knew what was expected of them on the job.[18]
  • At the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 81% of employees were positive on the 2024 Employee Engagement Index.[18]
  • Across U.S. employees, 17% were actively disengaged at work in 2025.[37]
  • Across U.S. employees, 31% were engaged at work in 2025, compared with 20% globally.[37]
  • Across global employees, 20% were engaged at work in 2025.[37]

DEI in the composting industry

  • 3 U.S. community composting operations reported staffs that were 100% BIPOC in 2022.[35]
  • 25% of surveyed U.S. community composting operations reported zero BIPOC employees in 2022.[35]

08 Statistics

Customer & Sales

Collection models concentrate demand, including curbside and drop-off programs, with BioCycle reporting 400 municipally supported residential food-waste collection programs.

Customer experience in the composting industry

  • Organicycle grew from about 30 to up to 100 daily compost-collection stops while improving service consistency, according to a company case study.[41]
  • Over 75% of new Table To Farm Compost customers chose every-other-week service after the company introduced that subscription option.[16]
  • Residents rated the Mill food-recycling service exceedingly positively in Phoenix, Arizona, in 2026.[42]
  • Compost Crew more than doubled the number of organizations it serviced commercially in 2021.[43]

Customer retention in the composting industry

  • UCRRA recorded 151 new bagged-compost customers in New York during the 2024 season.[44]
  • Groundcycle customer Allison Chen continued paying for compost collection despite New York City’s free options, with service costing $12 to $21 per week.[45]
  • 65 returning customers bought bagged compost from UCRRA in New York during the 2024 season.[44]

Customer acquisition in the composting industry

  • Bennett Compost and Circle Compost reported a combined customer base of more than 9,000 after merging in Philadelphia.[46]
  • BK ROT increased its paying residential customer base from 75 before the pandemic to 350 in Brooklyn, New York.[45]
  • Kona Compost Co. increased its customer base by approximately 80 customers, from 120 to nearly 200 clients.[41]
  • Bennett Compost had 6,500 customers in Philadelphia, according to a company profile.[47]
  • Kona Compost Co. nearly doubled its customer base from 120 to almost 200 clients after receiving business mentoring.[41]

Customer loyalty in the composting industry

  • Compost pickup customers received a 10% discount on soil in one documented compost-service business model.[48]
  • 65 of UCRRA’s 216 identified bagged-compost customers were returning customers in 2024, representing about 30%.[44]

Lead generation in the composting industry

  • EcoCycle reported a qualified-subscriber cost per lead of $12.50 for paid acquisition of its composting service.[49]
  • Ecoflo doubled its website leads in 12 months after implementing Google Ads, SEO, content and website improvements for its composting-toilet business in Australia.[50]
  • EcoCycle reported a 15% conversion-rate increase for a benefit-focused headline compared with a feature-focused headline in a composting-unit campaign.[49]

09 Statistics

Marketing & Brand

Packaging understanding limits end-market outcomes, with 49% of U.S. respondents reporting difficulty distinguishing “compostable” and “biodegradable.”

Marketing in the composting industry

  • 164 of 562 Australian councils, or 29%, had food-organics-and-garden-organics collection programs in the Compost Connect 2024 assessment.[51]
  • Only 43 Australian councils outside New South Wales and Victoria accepted compostable packaging among the councils assessed in 2024.[51]
  • 33% of Australians reported undertaking composting, with backyard composting the dominant method, in Compost Connect’s 2024 survey.[51]
  • 156 design combinations across 10 compostable-packaging categories were tested in a U.S. consumer study using the fictional RightPack brand.[16]
  • 49% of U.S. respondents had difficulty distinguishing the terms “compostable” and “biodegradable.”[52]

Digital marketing in the composting industry

  • 45% of Americans reported noticing “home compostable” labels on packaging in the Sustainable Packaging Coalition’s 2026 research.[53]
  • 10 compostable-packaging product categories were included in the digital consumer research conducted for the Composting Consortium.[16]
  • 156 packaging-design combinations were evaluated through digital testing across 10 compostable product categories and three conventional-plastic categories.[16]
  • 12% of U.S. consumers believed “home compostable” packaging could be discarded anywhere outdoors, according to 2026 research.[53]
  • 83% of home-compostable packaging did not end up in home-composting systems, according to the Sustainable Packaging Coalition’s 2026 study.[53]

Branding in the composting industry

  • 49% of consumers defined “home compostable” as packaging that biologically decomposes into natural materials in the 2026 U.S. survey.[53]
  • 1 in 5 Australians believed their council made composting easy, according to Compost Connect’s 2024 research.[51]
  • 46% of consumers defined “home compostable” as packaging that decomposes into soil nutrients in the 2026 U.S. survey.[53]
  • 45% of Americans noticed “home compostable” labels on packaging in 2026, according to Sustainable Packaging Coalition research.[53]
  • 70% of respondents in BioCup’s 2024 research said they would actively look for compostable logos when choosing products.[54]

Influencer Marketing in the environmental and waste services sector (sector benchmark)

  • 82% of B2B marketers who work with creators globally agreed in 2026 that influencer campaigns are essential for delivering measurable return on investment.[55]
  • 43% of surveyed B2B marketers reported outstanding results from their influencer programs in the 2025 global B2B Influencer Marketing Report.[56]
  • 58% of B2B marketing teams globally used an always-on influencer marketing approach in the 2025 B2B Influencer Marketing Report.[56]
  • 55% of B2B marketers globally were already using influencers in 2025, while another 29% planned to adopt influencer marketing within the following year.[57]
  • 81% of B2B marketers using creators across five markets said in 2026 that reducing creator activity would leave revenue opportunities untapped.[55]

10 Statistics

Operations & Execution

Operations depend on contamination measurement and monitoring coverage, with 100% of surveyed U.S. composting facilities using some form of temperature monitoring in 2024.

Process optimization in the composting industry

  • 28 of 127 U.S. food-waste composting facilities planned to open additional food-waste composting facilities.[16]
  • 76 of 106 U.S. food-waste composting facilities measured incoming contamination by volume rather than weight or visual inspection.[16]
  • 48 of 127 U.S. food-waste composting facilities planned to expand their existing sites.[16]
  • 15 of 106 U.S. food-waste composting facilities measured incoming contamination by weight.[16]
  • 100% of surveyed U.S. composting facilities used some form of temperature monitoring in the 2024 national operations survey.[11]

Operational efficiency in the composting industry

  • $16 per ton was the estimated 2024 operation-and-maintenance cost for a 132,000-ton-per-year higher-cost windrow composting facility.[58]
  • $14 per ton was the estimated 2024 operation-and-maintenance cost for a 150,600-ton-per-year aerobic static-pile composting facility in a Montgomery County analysis.[58]
  • $39 per ton was the estimated 2024 operation-and-maintenance cost for a 97,400-ton-per-year agitated-bed composting facility.[58]
  • 21% of composting operating costs were associated with removing physical contaminants in a 2024 industry study.[52]
  • $48 per ton was the estimated 2024 operation-and-maintenance cost for a 97,400-ton-per-year in-vessel tunnel-reactor composting facility.[58]

Quality management in the composting industry

  • 12 samples per year are required under Ontario’s baseline sampling frequency for facilities producing 15,000–50,000 wet tonnes of compost annually.[59]
  • 4 samples per year are required under Ontario’s baseline sampling frequency for facilities producing less than 5,000 wet tonnes of compost annually.[59]
  • 0.8 mg/kg dry weight is Ontario’s Category AA maximum mercury concentration for compost.[59]
  • 13 mg/kg dry weight is Ontario’s Category AA maximum arsenic concentration for compost.[59]
  • 150 mg/kg dry weight is Ontario’s Category AA maximum lead concentration for compost.[59]

Supply chain in the composting industry

  • 1,458,436.007 tons of biosolids were received by surveyed U.S. composting facilities in 2023.[11]
  • 2.6 million tons was the estimated annual food-waste composting capacity of full-scale U.S. facilities in 2022 at the survey’s maximum estimate.[16]
  • 26.2% of community composters reported government contracts as a revenue source in 2024.[16]
  • 13,389.85489 tons of compostable food-service ware and packaging were received by surveyed U.S. composting facilities in 2023.[11]
  • 56% of responding full-scale U.S. food-waste composting facilities offered food-waste collection services in 2022.[16]

Outsourcing / Offshoring in the environmental and waste services sector (sector benchmark)

  • 56% of companies surveyed globally in 2024 were using performance contracts for sustainability-related services.[60]
  • U.S. waste management and remediation services affiliates recorded $3.6 billion in sales to foreign customers in 2021.[61]
  • 100% of companies surveyed globally in 2024 were outsourcing at least one element of sustainability management.[60]
  • 40% of companies surveyed globally in 2024 were delegating waste management to specialized partners, while 33% were considering it.[60]
  • 66% of companies surveyed globally in 2024 were outsourcing facilities or utility management.[60]

11 Statistics

Finance & Pricing

Tipping fees vary by material quality and site, with an estimated $50 per ton average for food waste and compostable packaging in the U.S. national composting survey.

Pricing strategy in the composting industry

  • $75 per ton was the approximate tipping-fee ceiling used by most facilities for food waste and compostable packaging in the US survey.[11]
  • £24 per tonne was the median UK food-waste anaerobic-digestion gate fee in 2024/25.[62]
  • $40 per ton was the reported tipping fee for relatively clean materials such as cardboard at surveyed California facilities.[63]
  • $50 per ton was approximately the average tipping-fee level for food waste and compostable packaging reported in the US national composting survey.[11]
  • $1,250 was the regular US Composting Council STA first-product certification fee for compost producers.[11]

Cost reduction in the composting industry

  • $40–$92 per ton was the reported residue-disposal cost range at surveyed California organics-processing facilities.[63]
  • $49–$60 per ton was the estimated operating-cost range for a covered aerated-static-pile facility in Warren County, New York.[64]
  • $45–$56 per ton was the estimated operating-cost range for a 10,000-ton-per-year aerated-static-pile facility in Warren County, New York.[64]
  • $800,000 was the estimated annual total cost for a small Minnesota compost facility processing fewer than 15,000 tons per year.[65]
  • More than $50,000 per month was the reported contamination-related cost at another California organics-processing facility.[63]

Profitability in the composting industry

  • $390,000–$500,000 per year was the estimated operating-cost range for Warren County’s proposed turned-windrow facility.[64]
  • $80 per ton was the estimated total cost for a small Minnesota compost facility processing fewer than 15,000 tons annually.[65]
  • $2 million was the minimum capital-cost category reported by all California facilities that supplied capital-cost information.[63]
  • $57 per ton was the estimated total cost for a medium Minnesota compost facility processing 15,000–30,000 tons annually.[65]
  • $15 million per year was the highest reported annual operating cost among surveyed California windrow and aerated-static-pile operations.[63]

Financial planning in the composting industry

  • $600,000–$1.5 million was the estimated capital-cost range for Warren County’s proposed turned-windrow system, excluding some equipment.[64]
  • 18 months to three years was the reported typical duration of upfront approvals for US composting facilities.[52]
  • $270,000 was the estimated upper cost of Warren County’s proposed six-month composting pilot program.[64]
  • $2–$4.6 million was the estimated capital-cost range for Warren County’s proposed aerated-static-pile system.[64]
  • 7–10 years was the expected useful life of common mobile equipment used by US composting facilities.[52]

12 Statistics

Product & Service

Throughput and outlets define the value chain, including 14,379,113 tons of organic feedstock processed by surveyed U.S. composting facilities in 2023.

Product development in the composting industry

  • 3,877 U.S. composting facilities were included in EPA’s facility inventory refreshed in June 2024.[66]
  • 90% of surveyed community composting operations had started since 2010, indicating rapid sector formation through 2022.[35]
  • 55% more U.S. composting facilities existed in 2021 than in 2016, according to a national operations survey.[18]
  • 53% of 2024 community-composting respondents identified equipment and supplies as a funding priority.[35]
  • More than one-quarter of community-composting respondents increased their weekly food-scrap tonnage from 2021 to 2022.[35]

Product lifecycle in the composting industry

  • 14,379,113 tons of organic feedstock were processed by surveyed U.S. composting facilities in 2023.[11]
  • 31.14% of surveyed U.S. compost feedstock came from households in 2023.[11]
  • 30% of collected U.S. yard trimmings were landfilled in 2021, down from 72% in 1990.[18]
  • 1.8 million metric tons of carbon-dioxide-equivalent nitrous-oxide emissions came from U.S. composting in 2021.[18]
  • Over 75 tonnes per day and no more than 75,000 tonnes per year are the permitted treatment thresholds for a standard English open-system composting installation.[67]

After-sales in the composting industry

  • 31% of surveyed community composters reported contracts with their local governments in 2024.[35]
  • 60,013 clients were served by surveyed U.S. community composters in 2024.[35]
  • 26% of surveyed community composters received revenue from government contracts in 2024.[35]
  • 82% of surveyed community composting programs provided both composting and collection services in 2024.[35]
  • 477 full- and part-time employees were supported by 86 surveyed community composters in 2022.[35]

Value proposition in the composting industry

  • $76.8 million was the estimated nitrogen value in compost manufactured by surveyed U.S. facilities in 2023.[16]
  • 2.6 million tons of compost went to commercial horticulture in the surveyed U.S. market in 2023.[16]
  • $39.6 million was the estimated potassium value in compost manufactured by surveyed U.S. facilities in 2023.[16]
  • 2.3 million tons of compost went to agriculture in the surveyed U.S. market in 2023.[16]
  • $73.3 million was the estimated phosphorus value in compost manufactured by surveyed U.S. facilities in 2023.[16]

13 Statistics

Sustainability & Ethics

Environmental impact reporting is quantified, including 1.9 million metric tons of U.S. composting nitrous-oxide emissions in 2024.

Sustainability in the composting industry

  • 82% of surveyed U.S. community-composting programs provided both composting and collection services in 2024.[35]
  • 120,000 people were served on average by each European composting facility in 2019.[68]
  • 69.7 million pounds of food scraps were diverted by surveyed U.S. community composters in 2024.[35]
  • 23.0 million kilotons of waste were composted in the United States in 2022.[18]
  • 17% was the increase in organic material handled by repeat community-composter respondents from 2023 to 2024.[35]

CSR in the composting industry

  • 81% of repeat U.S. community-composter respondents maintained or increased their commercial clientele in 2024.[35]
  • 75% of repeat U.S. community-composter respondents maintained or increased their residential clientele in 2024.[35]
  • 26% of surveyed U.S. community composters received revenue from government contracts in 2024.[35]
  • 51% of surveyed U.S. community composters reported incoming-material contamination rates between 0% and 1% in 2024.[35]
  • 19% of surveyed U.S. community composters reported receiving virtually no local-government support in 2024.[35]

Circular economy in the composting industry

  • 18.7 million tons of waste were composted in the United States in 2005.[18]
  • 3.0 million tonnes was the installed annual anaerobic-digestion capacity reported across 20 European countries in 2019.[68]
  • 35.4 million tons of yard trimmings were generated in the United States in 2020.[69]
  • 38 million tonnes was the combined installed annual bio-waste-treatment capacity reported across 20 European countries in 2019.[68]
  • 0.066 tons per person was the U.S. annual yard-waste recovery rate for composting in 2020.[69]

Carbon footprint in the composting industry

  • 367,891 U.S. tons of CO2 equivalent were estimated to be sequestered in soil by USCC compost-manufacturer members in 2020.[11]
  • 17.6 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent were associated with U.S. food waste landfilling in the 2018 EPA baseline scenario.[18]
  • 1.9 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent were U.S. composting nitrous-oxide emissions in 2024.[70]
  • 23.4 million kilotons of waste were composted in the United States in 2024.[70]
  • 522,538 U.S. tons of CO2 equivalent were estimated to be sequestered annually in soil by USCC members in 2023.[11]

15 Statistics

Globalization & Expansion

Europe treats biowaste at scale, with 71 million tonnes per year treated through composting and anaerobic digestion in Europe in 2022.

Globalization in the composting industry

  • 72 kilograms per capita per year of biowaste was treated through composting in Europe in 2022.[32]
  • 28 to 328 kilograms per capita per year was the range of separately collected biowaste treated across European countries in 2022.[32]
  • 71 million tonnes per year of separately collected biowaste were treated through composting and anaerobic digestion in Europe in 2022.[32]
  • 66% of European biowaste treatment facilities were composting facilities in 2022.[32]
  • 3,800 composting facilities operated across the EU-27, Switzerland, Norway and the UK in 2022.[32]

Cultural adaptation in the composting industry

  • 28% to 60% was the kitchen-waste composting range reported for Newfoundland and Labrador, Quebec, Manitoba and Saskatchewan in 2021.[79]
  • 62% of urban U.S. adults were familiar with home composting in the 2026 survey.[53]
  • 91% of households in Nova Scotia composted kitchen waste in 2021.[79]
  • 35% of urban U.S. adults reported familiarity with food-waste drop-off sites in 2026.[53]
  • 37% of urban U.S. adults reported familiarity with community-garden compost bins in 2026.[53]

Supplier management in the composting industry

  • About one-third of surveyed U.S. composting facilities accepted only a single feedstock in 2021.[33]
  • 51% of surveyed U.S. composting facilities accepted food waste in 2021.[33]
  • 12.4 employees per 10,000 tons was the average staffing level at small surveyed U.S. composting facilities in 2021.[33]
  • 80% of revenue at large surveyed U.S. composting facilities came from tipping fees on average in 2021.[33]
  • 71% of U.S. full-scale food-waste composting facilities accepted some type of compostable packaging in 2023.[16]

Stakeholder management in the composting industry

  • 81% of repeat community-composter respondents maintained or increased their commercial clientele between 2023 and 2024.[35]
  • 82% of surveyed community-composting programs operated both composting and collection services in 2024.[35]
  • 82% of surveyed community composters processed compost within their service area in 2022.[80]
  • 17% was the increase in total organic material handled by repeat community-composter respondents from 2023 to 2024.[35]
  • Nearly 60% of surveyed community composters handled more than 100,000 pounds of organic material in 2024.[35]

Distribution channels in the composting industry

  • 89 U.S. full-scale food-waste composting facilities reported conventional agriculture as an outlet in 2023.[16]
  • 72 U.S. full-scale food-waste composting facilities reported organic agriculture as an outlet in 2023.[16]
  • 4% of the 66 million tons of food waste generated annually in the United States could be processed by identified composting infrastructure in 2023.[16]
  • Approximately one-third of compost produced by surveyed U.S. facilities was sold for agricultural purposes in 2021.[33]
  • 2400904 tons of compost output were reported for commercial horticulture in the 2023 U.S. Compost Throughput and Environmental Impact Survey.[11]

Key questions about the composting industry

What is the market size for composting in 2020?
The global composting-market value was $5.6 billion in 2020, cited by the U.S. EPA.
How fast does the composting market grow toward 2027?
The EPA expected the market to reach $7.5 billion by 2027, a 33.9% increase from 2020.
Which companies lead the composting industry?
Denali stands out for end-to-end food-waste to finished products because it provides U.S. compost, soil and mulch solutions across the United States, while Eggersmann Group focuses on composting and recycling equipment since it builds mobile recycling machines and operates composting businesses.
What technology shifts are showing up in composting work?
Digital-twin approaches reported 50% average composting efficiency versus 40% before implementation in a waste-management production system.
How fragmented is the U.S. composting industry?
The United States has an estimated 3,000–5,000 composting facilities, and the industry remains fragmented with no comprehensive federal employment or industry-revenue series.
What drives constraints on compost output and adoption?
Contamination, limited collection access, permitting, transportation costs and uneven facility capacity are major constraints.
Reference

Cite This Report

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APA
Samuel Norberg. (2026, November 10). Composting Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/composting-industry-statistics
MLA
Samuel Norberg. "Composting Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 10 Nov 2026, https://gitnux.org/composting-industry-statistics.
Chicago
Samuel Norberg. 2026. "Composting Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/composting-industry-statistics.

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