Leesburg residents can now drop off food scraps for composting at Tuscarora Creek Park as well as Liberty Street. Both sites are free and open around the clock, and meat and dairy are accepted.

Leesburg has opened a second drop-off site for food scraps, at Tuscarora Creek Park. Town residents can bring their food waste there for free, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The new bins are at 425 Solitude Court SE. The Town of Leesburg announced the site in a news release Tuesday, Nov. 10.

Why a second site

The town’s first drop-off opened in December 2024 in the Liberty Street parking lot, at 204 Liberty St. SW. It has taken in more than 35 tons of food waste since then, the town said. That is food that went to a commercial composter instead of the landfill.

“Residents have strongly supported food waste composting and remain committed to disposing of food scraps sustainably,” Sustainability Manager Deb Moran said in the release. “We’re excited to bring this service to more areas of Town and hope to double the amount of food waste diverted from the landfill.”

Food rotting in a landfill gives off methane. Composting it cuts those emissions and makes material that improves soil, the town said. The program is still described as a pilot.

The two drop-off sites

Site Address Open Cost
Liberty Street parking lot 204 Liberty St. SW 24 hours, every day Free for town residents
Tuscarora Creek Park (new) 425 Solitude Court SE 24 hours, every day Free for town residents

The rules

The town’s release sets out how to use the bins:

  • empty your food scraps straight into the composting bins
  • if you carry them in a bag, use a compostable bag certified by the Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI) or the Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI)
  • take your bag or container home, and never leave bags of food outside the bins
  • residential food waste only: no yard waste, recycling or trash

Because the scraps are processed commercially, the bins take meat and dairy, which most backyard compost piles cannot handle. The full list of what is accepted and what is not is on the town’s composting page.

What it means for you

If you live on the south or east side of town, Tuscarora Creek Park may now be the closer drop-off. Neither site takes trash, so leave nothing behind but the scraps.

The park also hosted the town’s first Pumpkin Smash this month; our Pumpkin Smash story has more on the composting program’s numbers so far. Trash, recycling and yard waste pickup is on our trash and recycling page. Loudoun County’s final household hazardous waste collection of 2026 runs 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 14, at Claude Moore Park in Sterling, about 12 miles east.