This rating is based on customer reviews, inventory size, pricing, and service quality
Reviews of Fairmount Park Organic Recycling Center in Philadelphia, PA skew positive: many praise abundant free compost, mulch, wood chips (often manure/firewood), clean yard, helpful staff, easy car loading, and fair pricing/cheap loader service. Strengths include quality materials and free 30 gallons for residents. Common complaints: inconsistent hours/phones, surprise closures, confusing signage/rules (trucks kept from piles, ID/scale steps), occasional fees for drop-off, waits to back up, and a few reports of rude service or misweighs. Overall: 82/100—great resource if you bring containers and patience.
What clients say about Fairmount Park Organic Recycling Center in Philadelphia (PA)
Impossible to tell if they are open or not as they never answer the phone and seem to close randomly without informing 311 or posting anything on the city website. Waste of time.
Does anyone ever answer the phone here. I came in with roughly 15 bags of leaves was told it weighed over a ton charged $140 for leaves the scale pulling in was roughly 6100lbs the save when leaving was about 5800 why was I charged for over 3k of leaves lol of course no answer when I called for an explanation. This is why there’s ”illegal” dumping by the way. Someone is scamming in that office or made a gross mistake that should be corrected.
The best resource for urban gardeners! Free mulch, dirt, compost and wood chips! Make sure to sign in upon arrival and just pull your car up the mulch/dirt piles.
Bring your own shovel and containers. I love meeting fellow gardeners when im there! thank you Philafelphia!!!
I must have caught people there on a bad day because my experience was very different from what others have posted.
I went there on March 19, 2025 at approximately 1 o'clock. It is only a couple miles from me so I wanted to check it out on my lunch time. The website as well as people posting reviews say that you can get 30 gallons of compost for free. That is not entirely accurate. You can get six 5 gallon buckets meaning that you need to take 6 buckets with you. You cannot fill up a 5 gallon bucket 6 times, and pour that into another container for your 30 gallons. They also said because I went there with a truck, I had to park 150 to 200 feet away from the compost piles and take the buckets individually to the truck. I was not allowed to pull the truck over to where the compost is and load the filled buckets into the bed of the truck. If you're an older or disabled city resident, carrying 30 - 40 pound buckets a few hundred feet might be a challenge. They did offer multiple times to sell me compost and fill up the entire bed of my truck with a loader, which is not what I wanted, if I want to buy compost, I will buy it locally and have it delivered.
I was pretty surprised at this situation and did not realize that the city was in the business of selling compost.
30 gallons per vehicle are free. (6 five gallon buckets). Bring your own shovel. Bring your own containers to fill. Pickup trucks cannot pull up next to the compost piles.
No sign when you enter so you don't really know what's up. I was loading 4 rubber maid 3 gallon containers and it appears you can only load 2 which is approximately a large trash can for free. A worker stopped me when I was about 1/2 way finished and told me I had to go to the trailer and sign in and get my car weighed and then get the remainder of the materials in the back. Since I was already invested and live 30 minutes away, I follwed those instructions. I had to leave my credit card and license at the trailer while I got the remaining materials. There really needs to be a better system. Needless to say, I won't be visiting again! Oh, and the charge was $15 plus tax.
Nice free materials for gardening. The compost pile should be arranged so there is no waiting to back up your vehicle. During covid they had a nice arrangement (different location) of 10 separate piles - no waiting.
I get all my compost that I use for my gardens, also get my wood chips! All free! I just go and get a trash can at a time. It works great! They just added some new barricades for the piles of wood chips mulch and company and the compost is rich!
Don’t drive your truck in to get the compost! only for cars. Each resident can go 3 times a week. If you want to fill a truck up you go around back and they will fill it up for you! It’s very very cheap.
When you get there you need to stop and sign in or get weighed, if you taking more than a trash can of material. They usually leave the paper to sign outside and I can be in and out in 2-3 minutes, I’m back home in ten. I love it, it’s one of my favorite parts of living in manayunk
Stopped by for the first time today, great experience. The compost here is amazing, I'm super excited to add it to my plants. The guy working the weighing station/at the sign in place was nice and answered our silly questions about how to do it. We just backed our car up and loaded up some bins (equal to 30 gallons) of compost. They have nice looking mulch as well. All free for residents up to 30 gallons, such a great amenity for residents. Someone did back their pick up truck right up to a pile, and the guy working asked him not to because people take advantage of the free materials.
I love the this place! I have a huuuge yard and even with the limits I only have to come here 3 to 4 times a year to save hundreds on mulch and compost.
And last but certainly not least, the people who work here are the nicest.
The signage is pretty confusing, but thankfully everyone is super nice and helpful. Shoutout to woman who runs weigh-in being so sweet, another parks dept employee for asking about what i was gonna plant, and another for frontloading dirt into the truck bed w artistic precision.
Super glad this program exists and hopefully soon can be accessible even if you don't have a car/truck/luck out and have your truck-owning parents around in the spring to help you out :)
Free compost, free mulch/wood chips and often free manure for gardens.
Bring your own buckets bags and or shovels.
Limited amounts free per day, but still very generous.
NOTE: while the hours are "accurate" if they are short handed or etc they can close early, or not open at all.
The lady who "works" in the dirt area needs a serious attitude adjustment! I've been coming there for years and it's never been a problem. This time she decides to call me and this old lady over ( who happened to be there for her church), whereby she basically yells at us about how much dirt we have even though she didn't even know how much we had!
First off, this city should be embarrassed by her and not just her, but in general. You don't pay for this dirty, WE, THE CITIZENS DO! YOu regulate it with a limit of only 6 buckets (30 gallons twice a week). Give me a break! WE, THE TAXPAYERS, pay for all the workers that create that dirty. NOT YOU!
I get it that contractors and professional gardeners may come, but it's pretty easy to spot a pro from an old lady in a small car and another woman (myself) in anpther car.
Neither of us had trucks or large automobiles. JUST HOW MUCH DIRT DO YOU THINK WE CAN GET! Seriously worry about the real problems in this city instead of targeing two older women getting dirty to try and MAKE THIS CITY PRETTY In the midst of being literally one of the "trashiest" city, for which nobody seems to care.
This is to the dirt lady: Keep your person problems to yourself and leave them at home. THERE IS A WAY TO TALK TO PEOPLE. You might want to learn how to communicate better and without attitude!
I love this place. I come here every year to get what I need for my garden. Philadelphia residents can get 30 gal of organic material for free, and anything over 30 gal is very fairly priced. The compost is leaf mulch- it’s not particularly nutrient dense for gardening, but can be amended to make a very serviceable gardening soil. The wood chips and mulch are great quality. Make sure to bring your own shovel and containers!
Was trying to drop off yard clippings but it was not free even as a phila resident. They said the minimum was $16. But hey at least they offer free compost
This is one of the best things about being a Philadelphian, free mulch and compost for my garden. It's a win win situation! We're saving our landfill, recycling, and beautifying our communities by planting gardens. All surrounding counties she offer this.
Free compost, mulch and chop your own firewood for Philadelphia residents. Great service, great quality compost, don't forget to bring shovel or bucket and bags/container/tarp to transport.
What a great resource for Philadelphia residents. You have the ability to drop off bagged leaves, chop wood or pick up compost for free up to 30 gallons. I told some of my neighbors about this place and they never heard of it. If we pay taxes we might as well take advantage of the programs we are supporting with our money!
Dropped off organic material for recycling and picked up wood chips - great service, no cost for city residents (with proof of residence) located in a beautiful area of West Fairmount Park.
390 W Sedgley Ave, Philadelphia, PAAuto repair shop
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