OnFarmCompost
Free one-week audit; no contract; measured diversion summary; food waste composted on partner farms.
Verified July 26, 2026
Houston compost pickup companies compared with current sources
This page compares residential, drop-off, and commercial food-waste services without pretending they are interchangeable. Every volatile provider detail has a verification date and an official source. Recheck before buying. Humans do enjoy changing prices immediately after someone builds a clean comparison table.
City-service clarification: Houston provides routine residential garbage, recycling, yard-waste, and other solid-waste services. Its composting page documents private providers and periodic food-waste or pumpkin drop-off programs, not a standing citywide curbside food-scrap route.
Provider snapshot
Service types and published terms
Pricing excludes unlisted fees and applies only where the provider's official page publishes a number.
| Provider | Customer type | Container | Cadence | Published price | Published area | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OnFarmCompost This site | Commercial only | 55-gallon gasket-sealed drum | Weekly exchange | $10 per barrel hauled | Route-fit addresses in Harris, Fort Bend, and Montgomery County | OnFarmCompost service facts |
| Moonshot Compost | Residential and commercial | Commercial service typically uses 55-gallon drums | Set during onboarding; official Houston page says usually no more than twice weekly | Commercial quote required | Houston plus other Texas metro areas | Moonshot Houston commercial page |
| Zero Waste Houston | Residential, drop-off, and commercial | Commercial service uses a 55-gallon drum | Weekly or curated schedule | $30 per drum/pickup inside Loop 610 and The Woodlands; $40 between Loop 610 and Beltway 8 | Published Houston and The Woodlands service zones | Zero Waste Houston commercial page |
| Curb to Compost | Residential and commercial | Residential service uses 5-gallon buckets; commercial details by quote | Residential monthly, biweekly, or weekly; commercial by quote | Residential $14, $25, or $33 per month; commercial quote required | Fort Bend County and surrounding Katy, Houston, and Sugar Land areas | Curb to Compost official site |
| Happy Earth Compost | Residential and commercial | Residential service uses a 5-gallon outdoor bucket; commercial custom | Residential monthly, biweekly, or weekly; commercial custom | Residential $16, $27, or $38 per month; commercial quote required | Houston, College Station, and Bryan; address check required | Happy Earth waste services |
Moonshot Compost
Month-to-month commercial plans, clean container swaps, and a diversion dashboard are described on the official site.
Zero Waste Houston
Official pricing and service-zone language can change. Confirm the exact address and all fees directly.
Curb to Compost
The official site describes residential pricing and a commercial quote path. Confirm current commercial container and schedule.
Happy Earth Compost
The official site describes residential plans and custom on-site commercial collection.
Last verified from the linked official sources on July 26, 2026. Contact providers for current availability and complete terms.
Read this first if you're a household
OnFarmCompost does not serve households
OnFarmCompost is commercial-only pickup for businesses in Harris, Fort Bend, and Montgomery County. If you're a household looking for compost pickup, the table above lists four providers that do take residential customers. Here is which one fits which situation, based on what each publishes:
| Your situation | Look at |
|---|---|
| Anywhere in the Houston area | Moonshot Compost, Zero Waste Houston, Curb to Compost, and Happy Earth Compost all list residential service on their official pages. |
| Fort Bend County, Katy, or Sugar Land | Curb to Compost's official site centers this area specifically. |
| College Station or Bryan | Happy Earth Compost is the only provider in this comparison that lists those cities. |
| Want drop-off instead of a scheduled pickup | Zero Waste Houston's official page lists a drop-off option alongside pickup. |
| Want a diversion dashboard | Moonshot Compost's official Houston page describes one. |
Confirm address, price, and current terms directly with the provider before signing up. Verified July 26, 2026.
Provider fit
Which provider fits which situation
Each block below leads with what that provider's official page shows it offers, including where that's something OnFarmCompost does not offer.
OnFarmCompost
OnFarmCompost is commercial-only pickup for businesses in Harris, Fort Bend, and Montgomery County: $10 per barrel hauled weekly, no contract, and a free one-week audit to start. The provider record above also lists a measured diversion summary and confirms collected food waste is composted on partner farms. It fits a business that wants a straightforward barrel rate with no contract term. It does not fit a household, because OnFarmCompost does not serve residential customers.
OnFarmCompost service factsMoonshot Compost
Moonshot Compost serves both residential and commercial customers, and its official page lists Houston plus other Texas metro areas, coverage OnFarmCompost does not offer since OnFarmCompost is commercial-only within three counties. Moonshot's commercial plans run month-to-month, and the official page also describes a diversion dashboard. It fits a household anywhere Moonshot operates, or a business that wants multi-metro coverage or dashboard-style diversion tracking. Commercial pricing there requires a quote.
Moonshot Houston commercial pageZero Waste Houston
Zero Waste Houston covers residential, drop-off, and commercial customers, and its official page publishes an exact commercial rate: $30 per drum inside Loop 610 and The Woodlands, $40 between Loop 610 and Beltway 8. That is a service OnFarmCompost does not offer, since OnFarmCompost has no drop-off option and no residential service. It fits a household, a drop-off user, or a business that wants to see a commercial number before calling. See the price caveat below before treating that rate as directly comparable to OnFarmCompost's.
Zero Waste Houston commercial pageCurb to Compost
Curb to Compost centers Fort Bend County and the surrounding Katy, Houston, and Sugar Land areas per its official site, and publishes residential pricing outright: $14, $25, or $33 a month depending on pickup frequency. OnFarmCompost has no residential price to compare, since it does not offer residential service. Curb to Compost fits a household in or near Fort Bend County that wants to see the monthly cost before signing up. Commercial service there is quote-based.
Curb to Compost official siteHappy Earth Compost
Happy Earth Compost covers Houston, College Station, and Bryan, extending past OnFarmCompost's Harris, Fort Bend, and Montgomery County footprint, and publishes residential tiers at $16, $27, or $38 a month. It fits a household in College Station or Bryan, where none of the other providers in this comparison operate, or a Houston household comparing published monthly rates. Commercial service there is custom and quote-based.
Happy Earth waste servicesOn price: only two providers here publish a commercial rate.
OnFarmCompost publishes $10 per barrel hauled weekly. Zero Waste Houston publishes $30 per drum inside Loop 610 and The Woodlands, or $40 between Loop 610 and Beltway 8. Moonshot Compost, Curb to Compost, and Happy Earth Compost all require a commercial quote, so they cannot be ranked against either published number. Even between OnFarmCompost and Zero Waste Houston, the services covered by each price may differ in container, route terms, and what's included, so this is not an apples-to-apples ranking. Confirm full terms directly before comparing costs.
Provider details verified from the linked official sources on July 26, 2026. Terms change; reconfirm directly before signing up.
Compare the same job
Eight questions before choosing a provider
A residential bucket, a commercial drum, a drop-off membership, and a custom institutional route are different products.
| Decision area | Question to ask |
|---|---|
| Address and route | Will the provider serve the exact address on the required day, and what happens during holidays or severe weather? |
| Material policy | Are meat, bones, dairy, oil, paper, liners, and compostable products accepted in writing? |
| Container and cleaning | What size is provided, who cleans it, and what happens after a spill, damaged lid, or missed pickup? |
| Measurement | Is material weighed, estimated by container, or self-reported, and how are tare and contamination handled? |
| Destination | Where does the material go, what process receives it, and what happens to rejected loads and finished compost? |
| Authorization | Which transport and receiving-site requirements apply to the actual collected feedstock? |
| Complete price | What are the setup, route, container, liner, contamination, extra-pickup, minimum, and cancellation costs? |
| Reporting | Which figures are measured, which are modeled, and can the provider explain the calculation method? |
Commercial comparison
Use measured monthly cost
Convert every proposal to the same period and include every required fee. For a per-pickup price, use the actual number of pickups in a year. For a per-barrel price, use the measured weekly barrel count.
annual service cost
= pickup units × unit price × annual pickups
+ setup + route + container + liner + contamination + extrasResidential comparison
Check convenience and accepted materials
A low monthly price is useless when the address is outside the zone, the bucket is too small, the material is not accepted, or the drop-off requires a weekly drive across Houston traffic, humanity's most persistent group project.
- • Address and pickup-day availability
- • Bucket size and extra-container cost
- • Meat, dairy, bones, liners, paper, and compostable-product policy
- • Compost return, pause, cancellation, holiday, and missed-pickup terms
Houston compost pickup FAQ
What companies pick up food scraps or compostables in Houston?
The City of Houston composting page currently lists Moonshot Compost, Zero Waste Houston, Curb to Compost, and Happy Earth Compost. This independent comparison also includes OnFarmCompost because it provides commercial food-waste pickup in Harris, Fort Bend, and Montgomery County. Provider service areas, prices, containers, and accepted materials change, so verify the exact address and written terms directly.
Does the City of Houston provide routine curbside food-scrap pickup?
The City provides residential garbage, recycling, yard-waste, and other solid-waste services, and it has run periodic food-waste and pumpkin drop-off programs. It does not currently advertise routine citywide curbside food-scrap collection. Residents and businesses generally use a private provider, a current public drop-off event, or an appropriate self-managed option.
Which Houston compost providers serve businesses?
Official provider pages currently describe commercial service from OnFarmCompost, Moonshot Compost, Zero Waste Houston, Curb to Compost, and Happy Earth Compost. The actual fit depends on address, volume, material, container, pickup schedule, destination, contamination rules, authorization, reporting, and total price.
Which provider is cheapest?
Published price alone cannot answer that. Compare the same unit: container size, pickup frequency, route fee, setup, liners, contamination, extra pulls, contract term, reporting, and the amount actually collected. A $10 barrel and a $30 pickup are not comparable until container, service area, and schedule match.
Why does this comparison include a verification date?
Provider prices, zones, ownership, containers, programs, and accepted materials change. A comparison without a verification date slowly becomes fiction with a table border. Recheck the provider and City source before relying on any volatile detail.
What is the difference between OnFarmCompost and Moonshot Compost?
OnFarmCompost is commercial-only within Harris, Fort Bend, and Montgomery County, weighed weekly at $10 per barrel with no contract. Moonshot Compost's official page lists both residential and commercial service across Houston and other Texas metro areas, with month-to-month commercial plans and a diversion dashboard. Moonshot's commercial pricing requires a quote.
Is Zero Waste Houston cheaper than OnFarmCompost?
Zero Waste Houston publishes $30 per drum inside Loop 610 and The Woodlands, or $40 between Loop 610 and Beltway 8. OnFarmCompost is $10 per barrel hauled weekly. These are not an apples-to-apples comparison: container terms, route coverage, and what is included in each price may differ, and Zero Waste Houston's page is the only source for its own number. Confirm the full terms with each provider before assuming either is cheaper for a given account.
Does Curb to Compost serve businesses in Sugar Land?
Curb to Compost's official site lists Fort Bend County and the surrounding Katy, Houston, and Sugar Land areas, and describes both residential and commercial service, with commercial pricing available by quote. Confirm exact address coverage directly with Curb to Compost.
Which Houston composting service takes meat and dairy?
Not OnFarmCompost. Its published accepted-material policy is vegetative as of August 2026: produce culls, trim, unsold fruit and vegetables, coffee grounds, and depackaged bulk dry goods. Meat, bones, fish, dairy, and post-service plate scrapings are excluded, because the material is composted on working farmland rather than at a permitted facility. This comparison does not have a verified, line-item accepted-materials list for Moonshot Compost, Zero Waste Houston, Curb to Compost, or Happy Earth Compost, so if animal material is what you need handled, confirm what each of those accepts directly on their official pages before signing up.
Which composting services serve residential customers in Houston?
Based on the verified fields above, Moonshot Compost, Zero Waste Houston, Curb to Compost, and Happy Earth Compost all list residential service. OnFarmCompost is commercial only and does not serve households.
Does OnFarmCompost serve households?
No. OnFarmCompost is commercial only. Households in the Houston area should look at Moonshot Compost, Zero Waste Houston, Curb to Compost, or Happy Earth Compost, all of which list residential service on their official pages.
Who serves Fort Bend County?
OnFarmCompost serves route-fit commercial addresses in Fort Bend County as well as Harris County. Curb to Compost's official site centers Fort Bend County specifically. Zero Waste Houston's published zones are Loop 610 and The Woodlands. Confirm exact address coverage with each provider before assuming service.
Which provider covers the widest service area?
Based on the verified fields above, Moonshot Compost lists Houston plus other Texas metro areas, and Happy Earth Compost lists Houston, College Station, and Bryan. OnFarmCompost, Zero Waste Houston, and Curb to Compost describe more geographically focused zones within the Houston area. Confirm the exact address with any provider before assuming coverage.
Is there a diversion dashboard or tracking tool for composting in Houston?
Moonshot Compost's official Houston page describes a diversion dashboard. This comparison does not have verified information on a similar tool from OnFarmCompost, Zero Waste Houston, Curb to Compost, or Happy Earth Compost; ask directly if that is a requirement.
What does commercial composting cost in Houston?
Two providers in this comparison publish a commercial price: OnFarmCompost at $10 per barrel hauled weekly, and Zero Waste Houston at $30 per drum inside Loop 610 and The Woodlands, or $40 between Loop 610 and Beltway 8. Moonshot Compost, Curb to Compost, and Happy Earth Compost all require a commercial quote. Confirm what each price includes, and whether the service areas match, before comparing them directly.
Need commercial service in Harris, Fort Bend, or Montgomery County?
OnFarmCompost starts with a free one-week audit, measured barrel count, and route-fit decision. Ongoing service is $10 per barrel hauled with no contract.
Source register: City of Houston composting-company page and each provider's linked official service page. OnFarmCompost is the publisher and appears in the comparison; readers should treat its self-reported facts accordingly and verify any purchase decision directly.