This week, Ramsey and Washington counties announced their Food Scraps Pickup Program is now available to all residents of Maplewood, North St. Paul, Cottage Grove and Newport.

The Food Scraps Pickup program is a composting program for household food waste such as coffee grounds, fruits, vegetables, bones and more.

Residents in these cities can participate in the program by ordering free food scrap bags from the program website. Once filled, these scrap bags can be placed in residents' trash pickup containers. The bags, designed to survive the trip in a garbage truck, are separated from trash and sent to a compost facility.

Previously, the program was available to some Ramsey and Washington county residents under a pilot. The counties plan to roll the program out to all residents in the future.

Ramsey and Washington County residents not yet eligible for food scraps pick-up can still drop off food scraps at waste at drop-off sites.

For more information, visit the Food Scraps Pickup Program website at https://foodscrapspickup.com/.