Food scraps and food-soiled paper — including paper towels, plates, napkins and pizza boxes — can now be turned into compost in most cities in Alameda County as part of the food scrap recycling program. If available, just empty all of these items into the yard trimmings cart for weekly curbside pickup. Your scraps will be used to make a natural fertilizer for local farms to grow more food. Contact your City recycling program for more information (StopWaste.Org). Also — you can compost many of these items yourself in your backyard to make your own rich soil amendment. See the gardening section of our site or book for more.