(Photo by Christina Estes - KJZZ)

The "tipping floor" at the 27th Avenue Transfer Station shows organic material, like landscaping scraps, that could have been used in composting.

The landscape trimmings and green waste you put out on the sidewalk could soon be going to Phoenix’s new composting facility.

The 27-acre space came out of a challenge by the mayor to get Phoenix to divert almost half of the city’s waste out of the landfill by 2020.

The machine can compost up to 55,000 tons of material annually, which the city hopes to reach in a year.

Phoenix Deputy Public Works director Chuck Hamstra says most of the compost will be made out of landscape waste, and about a quarter will be food waste from places like the airport or convention center.

“The material’s coming in just like it always did to our facility, but instead of being diverted to the landfill we’re diverting it to our composting facility," he said. "So both commercial landscapers and residents can send their material to the composting facility.”

The city will work with a company to manage, operate and market Phoenix’s compost. The compost facility cost about $16 million to build.

“We’re very excited about it and the possibility of getting more and more material out of the landfill, creating a more circular economy in the local Phoenix area — now we can make a useful product out of it and put it back to good use.”

The facility will reduce 11 percent of the waste that would have been sent to a landfill.