Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
futureblues

free mulch in los angeles

futureblues
17 years ago

hi...i get free mulch in downtown los angeles fri/sat/sun from 10am to 3pm......sante fe and washington blvd....right off 10fwy exit....great mulch all organic...

Comments (17)

  • Ideefixe
    17 years ago

    Where exactly? What type of mulch?

  • splitsec002
    17 years ago

    Do you have directions or a phone # or address? I'd love to get some mulch. Can we use this as compost?

  • youreit
    17 years ago

    The article linked below is from 2004, but it looks like the place Futureblues is referring to might be located at 2649 E. Washington Blvd. in Central Los Angeles ( MapQuest ). Other distribution centers mentioned in the article are -

    ~ 11950 Lopez Canyon Rd. in Lake View Terrace ( MapQuest )
    ~ Wilbur Avenue north of Parthenia Street in Northridge ( MapQuest ignore the star on this one )
    ~ 1400 N. Gaffey St. in San Pedro ( MapQuest )

    Brenda

    Here is a link that might be useful: Mulch & compost

  • peebee1
    17 years ago

    A warning about the San Pedro location at least--I told my neighbor about it 2 years ago, and he went there with his pick-up. Came back, and showed me the "compost": undecomposed twigs and unidentifiable clumps of matter, rocks, and worst of all, broken bits of glass and metal. There were also bottle caps, plastic, and labels. Needless to say, I was mortified and disgusted. He said there was no one on the premises, at least on the day he went, it looked to be unsupervised. So basically anyone can just dump their junk from their landscaping jobs or whatever. I tried emailing the site, but gave up after I could not locate their email address. It might be okay now, but I would just be very careful abour using this stuff. No wonder it's free.

  • dave_sfv
    17 years ago

    I picked-up some of this mulch a year or two ago, at the Wilbur/Parthenia location, and also found it full of glass, small rocks metal and plasic. This is the waste picked-up in the green thrash containers at our homes and people throw all sorts of stuff in it. If you don't have lots of time to pick through it I would avoid it or go get a couple 5 gal. buckets
    full and see what it looks like.
    Most of the people I have seen there look like landscapers, I wanted compost for my veg. garden, I wouldn't put that stuff in my garden. Also I haven't seen any compost at this location the last couple months but they may just be down for the winter.

    Dave

  • Jerry_E
    17 years ago

    The parthenia street site is gone period dave.
    I need a source for FREE compost. Any suggestions?

    LA area

  • spielbee
    13 years ago

    Hello! Los Angeles no longer offers free compost. Their compost, which is mulch (from our green bins) mixed with treated human waste is only used in city landscaping projects. If your idea of compost is wormy and alive, let me know. I sometimes sell my surplus organic compost.

  • Baby G (USDA:10a, Sunset:21&23 SoCal-NE. Mt Washington, Lo-Chill: 200-400 Hrs, So
    13 years ago

    The link above was outdated. Here is a new one.
    The free mulch locations are listed in the link at the bottom of this post.

    The City also gives lots of classes on composting, etc. and gives away mulch and compost at their Griffith Park site. For that, see: http://www.laparks.org/dos/camps/facility/griffithPkCompost.htm

    For multiple free mulch locations, see:

    Here is a link that might be useful: UPDATED-- Free Mulch & Compost

  • jimnyo
    13 years ago

    i found this, but i do not know if it's been discontinued. you'd think if it was, it wouldn't be posted, right? i hope it's still going! plus apparently the compost has to meet some kind of standard for certification:
    http://www.ci.la.ca.us/san/srpcd/mulch_compost.htm

  • dicot
    13 years ago

    I use the San Pedro compost all the time, including 3 days ago. Never seen landscapers or homeowner dump there. The organic material isn't always in the same state of decomposition and there's definitely glass & plastic contamination, but it is always over 140 F when I dig into the pile and no one cares how much you take. I estimate that place has saved me hundreds of dollars over the past few years.

    I usually age it some more, but if I do use it fresh, I use it for compost tea or as a top mulch. When I mix it with native soil in raised beds, it's never more than 40% of the mix.

  • kairous1_hotmail_com
    13 years ago

    Hi
    I was wondering if anyone has pick up mulch from the East Los Angeles location? Also wondering if these mulch are the type that's suitable for use for playground?

    Am putting together a playground and trying to find material that don't break the bank for the playground.
    Thanks
    Jeff

  • boozer52
    13 years ago

    The mulch provided free by the City of LA (available at several sites, including East LA, is not suitable for a childs playground unless you really have the time to sift through all of the material. I have picked up approximately 5 yards over the last threee years and have found several peices of glass, jagged plastic pieces, pens, etc. Even a few months since my last load, I still find small (1"-2.5") pieces in the landscape. It doesn't bother me, but I would not want to have children playing in it as I think they have a chance of getting cut. For general landscape purposes the mulch is fine.

  • winstella
    10 years ago

    I know this thread is old but just wanted to say that they are definitely still giving away free compost & mulch, now at 11 locations.

    I just went to the Boyle heights location today & picked up couple bags of both. They were both steaming hot piles and smell strongly like the zoo.

    Is it ok to use for my garden? I haven't looked carefully yet if there's glass in it.

    Human poop? Is that ok?

  • slowjane CA/ Sunset 21
    10 years ago

    i got a bunch from the location in frog town and have used it as a top dressing around newly planted natives in front of my house. the stuff i saw in lincoln heights was different - smalller, more composted - so i think it can differ. mine is more woody - and definitely had plastic bits in it, which i picked out. i wouldn't use it in my veggie beds - but just to keep the dust down around new plants i think it's fine. and the folks here okayed it when i posted about using it with natives.

    hey it's free! and recycled. both good things.

  • lynne3450
    10 years ago

    we've gotten free mulch from the pick-up location near baldwin hills / culver city and have been happy with it (though agree in the beginning it smells like the zoo! ;-)

  • winstella
    10 years ago

    I was told that the compost not good for edibles because the zoo poop may contain poop from meat eating animals & also the bio solids which is human waste.... Bleh, what am I going to do with the pile of it sitting in my yard??

    Hopefully the mulch is safe

  • lonehawkstation
    9 years ago

    I recently picked up some free compost from the Boyle Heights site. They had 2 piles. One was labeled "compost" and the other "mulch". Although, they looked the same to me. They were very dark and had a lot of small rocks and visible tree barks. I wouldn't call them "fine" in any fashion. From just scooping them onto my truck, I didn't see any plastics, glass, or strange objects.

    I'm not sure if it'll make you guys feel better, but it looks like they do perform quarterly tests on their compost and post their results here: http://www.lacitysan.org/srpcd/sta_info.htm. Again, I'm new and don't know what the tests represent. :-)