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Chick-fil-A Continues Expanding Composting Efforts
April 07, 2025
Heather Beaubien, Chick-fil-A, Inc.'s Director of Sustainability, shares more about efforts to divert food waste from landfills
When Chick-fil-A, Inc. committed to diverting 25 million pounds of food waste from landfills by 2025, local Owner-Operators, Team Members and Staff came together to find innovative ways to repurpose food waste.
At Chick-fil-A® restaurants, Team Members take a “cook less, more often” approach so there’s less excess food at the end of the day. When local Owner-Operators do have surplus food remaining, they can donate it to local nonprofits through the Chick-fil-A Shared Table® program.
But not everything can be donated – like lettuce scraps, tomato stems, coffee grounds and more. That’s where composting comes in. Since launching its first composting pilot in 2017, Chick-fil-A has expanded the program to more than 150 Restaurants and its Support Center: Buffington in Atlanta, helping keep food waste out of landfills and building a more sustainable future.
Learn more about Chick-fil-A’s growing composting program from Heather Beaubien, Director of Sustainability at Chick-fil-A, Inc.
Why is composting important?
"As a Restaurant company, diverting food waste from landfills is one of the greatest opportunities we have to make a positive impact. Caring for our planet is one of our key corporate social responsibility focus areas, and it reflects Chick-fil-A’s commitment to being good stewards of the resources we have."
How do Chick-fil-A Team Members engage with composting?
"Team Members at participating locations collect food scraps at key areas in the kitchen, such as salad prep scraps, coffee grounds, and even fryer crumbs. Hauling partners then take the material to compost facilities where it becomes a nutrient-rich material."
How does the compost program at Support Center: Buffington differ from that of the Restaurants?
"The process is very similar, but the volume at the Support Center in Atlanta is significantly higher since there are several thousand people on campus daily. The Buffington campus is installing an on-site bio-dehydrator, which breaks down the volume of material, so we reduce the number of trips on the road for our waste hauler. That’s a double win for carbon reduction! We also have over 200 Staff volunteers called the Green Team, who advocate for and demonstrate smart composting practices in their respective work areas. They also help and encourage their colleagues on campus to utilize the sorting stations on campus, where they can recycle or compost waste instead of putting it into the trash."
What is the end result of composting?
"Finished compost improves soil quality and increases water retention. It is used in gardens, on farms, and even by the Department of Transportation for erosion control. I love the circularity of this process – using discarded food scraps to grow more food. Sometimes, local Owner-Operators use it to nourish the flower beds outside their Restaurants. Others have even gifted bags of compost to interested Guests!"
What are the challenges associated with composting?
"If the local infrastructure is there to support—haulers and compost facilities—composting is relatively easy. It’s as simple as teaching Team Members to recognize compostable waste, collecting it in pickle buckets or another storage container, and holding it for pickup at the Restaurant’s trash enclosure.
Nationwide, composting infrastructure varies, as well as the costs associated with the process. We are working to balance current business needs while supporting infrastructure development. It’s a challenge we are committed to addressing and we’re constantly exploring potential long-term solutions."
How does Chick-fil-A continue to refine its approach to waste reduction?
"At Chick-fil-A, we embrace opportunities to act as good stewards of the planet we share and try to decrease our environmental impact. We’re honored to demonstrate this commitment by being the first restaurant foodservice signatory to join the U.S. Food Waste Pact. Members include many food manufacturers and large grocery chains, and we are able to learn from these industry leaders."
How does composting contribute to Chick-fil-A’s sustainability goals?
"Composting is one of several programs that propelled our corporate social responsibility (CSR) goal to divert 25 million pounds of food waste from landfills by 2025. We have exceeded that goal early through composting, along with the Chick-fil-A Shared Table program, which repurposes surplus food into meals for those who are food insecure. Eighty-five percent of Restaurants are engaged in our cooking oil recycling program, which converts used fryer oil into renewable diesel. Ultimately, we aim to act as good stewards of the planet we share, and that includes waste reduction, packaging design, energy efficiency and more."
What do you see on the horizon for composting?
"After achieving our 2025 goal of diverting 25 million pounds of food waste from landfills, we are excited at the prospect of setting new goals. As Chick-fil-A expands its composting program, we look forward to discovering new, innovative ways to create a lasting, positive impact on the communities we serve and contribute to a more sustainable future."
Heather Beaubien, Chick-fil-A, Inc.'s Director of Sustainability, shares more about efforts to divert food waste from landfills
When Chick-fil-A, Inc. committed to diverting 25 million pounds of food waste from landfills by 2025, local Owner-Operators, Team Members and Staff came together to find innovative ways to repurpose food waste.
At Chick-fil-A® restaurants, Team Members take a “cook less, more often” approach so there’s less excess food at the end of the day. When local Owner-Operators do have surplus food remaining, they can donate it to local nonprofits through the Chick-fil-A Shared Table® program.
But not everything can be donated – like lettuce scraps, tomato stems, coffee grounds and more. That’s where composting comes in. Since launching its first composting pilot in 2017, Chick-fil-A has expanded the program to more than 150 Restaurants and its Support Center: Buffington in Atlanta, helping keep food waste out of landfills and building a more sustainable future.
Learn more about Chick-fil-A’s growing composting program from Heather Beaubien, Director of Sustainability at Chick-fil-A, Inc.
Why is composting important?
"As a Restaurant company, diverting food waste from landfills is one of the greatest opportunities we have to make a positive impact. Caring for our planet is one of our key corporate social responsibility focus areas, and it reflects Chick-fil-A’s commitment to being good stewards of the resources we have."
How do Chick-fil-A Team Members engage with composting?
"Team Members at participating locations collect food scraps at key areas in the kitchen, such as salad prep scraps, coffee grounds, and even fryer crumbs. Hauling partners then take the material to compost facilities where it becomes a nutrient-rich material."
How does the compost program at Support Center: Buffington differ from that of the Restaurants?
"The process is very similar, but the volume at the Support Center in Atlanta is significantly higher since there are several thousand people on campus daily. The Buffington campus is installing an on-site bio-dehydrator, which breaks down the volume of material, so we reduce the number of trips on the road for our waste hauler. That’s a double win for carbon reduction! We also have over 200 Staff volunteers called the Green Team, who advocate for and demonstrate smart composting practices in their respective work areas. They also help and encourage their colleagues on campus to utilize the sorting stations on campus, where they can recycle or compost waste instead of putting it into the trash."
What is the end result of composting?
"Finished compost improves soil quality and increases water retention. It is used in gardens, on farms, and even by the Department of Transportation for erosion control. I love the circularity of this process – using discarded food scraps to grow more food. Sometimes, local Owner-Operators use it to nourish the flower beds outside their Restaurants. Others have even gifted bags of compost to interested Guests!"
What are the challenges associated with composting?
"If the local infrastructure is there to support—haulers and compost facilities—composting is relatively easy. It’s as simple as teaching Team Members to recognize compostable waste, collecting it in pickle buckets or another storage container, and holding it for pickup at the Restaurant’s trash enclosure.
Nationwide, composting infrastructure varies, as well as the costs associated with the process. We are working to balance current business needs while supporting infrastructure development. It’s a challenge we are committed to addressing and we’re constantly exploring potential long-term solutions."
How does Chick-fil-A continue to refine its approach to waste reduction?
"At Chick-fil-A, we embrace opportunities to act as good stewards of the planet we share and try to decrease our environmental impact. We’re honored to demonstrate this commitment by being the first restaurant foodservice signatory to join the U.S. Food Waste Pact. Members include many food manufacturers and large grocery chains, and we are able to learn from these industry leaders."
How does composting contribute to Chick-fil-A’s sustainability goals?
"Composting is one of several programs that propelled our corporate social responsibility (CSR) goal to divert 25 million pounds of food waste from landfills by 2025. We have exceeded that goal early through composting, along with the Chick-fil-A Shared Table program, which repurposes surplus food into meals for those who are food insecure. Eighty-five percent of Restaurants are engaged in our cooking oil recycling program, which converts used fryer oil into renewable diesel. Ultimately, we aim to act as good stewards of the planet we share, and that includes waste reduction, packaging design, energy efficiency and more."
What do you see on the horizon for composting?
"After achieving our 2025 goal of diverting 25 million pounds of food waste from landfills, we are excited at the prospect of setting new goals. As Chick-fil-A expands its composting program, we look forward to discovering new, innovative ways to create a lasting, positive impact on the communities we serve and contribute to a more sustainable future."
