Bulk municipal compost and mulch are available for sale from the Ann Arbor Compost Center at 4150 Platt Road, open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. In April, May and June, the Compost Center is also open on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to noon.

Mechanically loaded cured and screened municipal compost and wood chips are sold for $15 a cubic yard, with a minimum of two cubic yards per visit, while supplies are available. Customers may pay by check or credit card only, not cash.

Ann Arbor’s Compost Center is now operated on behalf of the city by WeCare Organics.

Ann Arbor residents only may be eligible for the following discounts and special offers at the Platt Road Compost Center facility:

Free self-loaded compost and mulch for Ann Arbor residents is available on Saturdays, April 16 through May 28, from 8 a.m. to noon, while supplies last. Residents must bring their own shovel and containers. Residents must proceed to the scale house at 4150 Platt Road and provide proof of Ann Arbor residency: a recent water bill and a driver’s license. The scale house operator will direct the resident to the location of the free compost. There's a limit  of six bushels (or one cubic yard) per household.

Recyclebank coupon for one free cubic yard of compost or mulch with a compost or mulch purchase, while supplies last. The free Recyclebank Rewards program is available to Ann Arbor residents in single-family and duplex homes, starting April 18. Select the compost coupon online, print at home, and bring to the Compost Center with proof of residency. Register for the free Recyclebank program online or phone 1-888-727-2978.

Use the Drop-Off Station for all transactions under two cubic yards.

Compost and mulch are sold by the bushel and cubic yard at the Drop-Off Station, 2950 E. Ellsworth Road, 734-971-7400. The DOS is the City of Ann Arbor’s designated location for handling all compost and mulch sales in bushel and smaller cubic yard quantities. Drop-off and sales under two cubic yards must be handled at the DOS. Customers pay at the DOS gatehouse and proceed to the designated site for drop-off or pick-up. The DOS also provides for-fee delivery of compost and mulch.

Effective March 2011, the DOS is open three days a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. (non-holidays). Only cash, Visa or MasterCard payments are accepted at this location. The $3 DOS entry fee is waived for customers purchasing compost or mulch. Please call the DOS for current rates or check www.recycleannarbor.org.

The City of Ann Arbor’s compost is tested and certified three times a year with the U.S. Composting Council. Current results are posted at www.a2gov.org/compost. For 24-hour information on the city’s compost operations, call please 734-99-GREEN or view the city’s web site at www.a2gov.org/compost.

A summary of the compost and mulch sales and yard waste drop-off options is posted online.

Nancy Stone is the Communications Liaison for Public Services at the City of Ann Arbor. She can be reached at nstone@a2gov.org. Visit http://www.a2gov.orgfor more information on local environmental topics including recycling, composting, water conservation and choices for green living.

Your World provides local environmental information to our community. Contributing partners include: Washtenaw County’s Environmental Health Division; the nonprofit Recycle Ann Arbor; the City of Ann Arbor’s Public Services Area, Natural Area Preservation, Systems Planning programs for Energy, Environmental Coordination, Solid Waste, Transportation, and Water Resources.