A compost bin is pictured in a file photo. (Daisy Daisy / iStock)

If you live in Chicago and have always wanted to try composting, you might be able to get a free backyard compost bin through the city.

City residents living in homes with four units or less can fill out an online form to request a free compost bin as part of a giveaway announced Monday by city officials.

Once eligibility is confirmed, city staff will deliver a free compost bin to residents’ homes, according to a news release.

Each ward will receive an initial allocation of 20 bins.

If the number of requests exceeds the number of bins available per ward, names will be added to a waiting list and residents will be notified by email if more bins become available, according to a news release.

Composting is the process of turning organic materials — such as fruit and vegetable scraps — into compost through natural decomposition. The compost can then be used to nourish soil in gardens.

More information about composting and the compost bin giveaway is on the city website.

The giveaway is a collaboration between the Mayor’s Office, the Department of Streets and Sanitation and the Department of Environment.

“We are proud to launch this initiative that advances our climate action goals by keeping food scraps out of landfills, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and returning valuable nutrients to our soil,” said Mayor Brandon Johnson in a news release.

Last year, the city launched a citywide food scrap drop-off program, which has 20 locations for residents to drop off their household food scraps for composting. Accepted food scraps are fruit and vegetable scraps, cooked food, meat, fish, bones, dairy, eggshells, tea leaves, coffee grounds, bread and grains.

However, animal products or cooked food should not be added to backyard compost bins, according to the city, because they can attract rodents and the microbes in a backyard bin may not generate high enough temperatures to kill pathogens that may be introduced by these foods.

The food scraps collected through the city’s drop-off program are composted at a commercial-scale composting facility, which can reach temperatures high enough to kill pathogens and more quickly break down materials, according to the city.

Contact Eunice Alpasan: @eunicealpasan | 773-509-5362 | [email protected]