The New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY) has announced that curbside composting, put on hold during the height of the pandemic, as reported, is on the way back to many city residents! By composting, New Yorkers keep their neighborhoods clean, reduce waste being sent to landfills, create compost for City Parks, and produce clean, renewable energy to heat homes.

 

While service was “automatic” in pre-pandemic times, residents interested in participating will now need to sign-up or express interest at nyc.gov/curbsidecomposting. The registration process will allow the DSNY to best understand who is most interested in participating in the program, and tailor truck routes in the most efficient way possible.

 

The curbside composting program collects food scraps, food-soiled paper products and yard waste from city residents in thick, hard-sided, locking bins. Just like traditional recycling of paper, cardboard, metal, glass, plastic and beverage cartons, residents separate these items and put them in a brown bin provided by DSNY. DSNY will collect these materials every week and turn them into a resource (compost or renewable energy) for New Yorkers.

 

Sanitation Commissioner Edward Grayson said DSNY is very happy to have received the funding needed to help restart the curbside composting program. “This waste makes up about a third of what we throw out, and to move towards a zero-waste city, we need to put this very valuable material to beneficial reuse.”

 

The program is open to residential buildings of all sizes. Residents interested in participating in the program, even those who participated in the past, should complete the registration form at nyc.gov/curbsidecomposting. While the service will initially be available to the 3.5 million city residents who previously had service, DSNY is asking everyone interested in curbside composting to fill out the registration form as it will help the department possibly expand this service to additional neighborhoods.

 

 

Service will resume on a rolling basis beginning this fall, and will be based on the number of sign-ups in each neighborhood. This will help ensure steady participation and make for efficient use of the vehicles. Residents may use the same DSNY-issued collection bin they used in the past. Those needing a new brown bin will have an opportunity to receive one before service begins.

 

What Goes in the Brown Bin

• Food, including:

• • coffee grounds and tea bags,
  • shells (seafood, nut, and egg),
  • bones, and
  • spoiled and expired food

• Food-soiled paper products, such as:

• • paper napkins,
  • paper towels, and
  • uncoated paper plates, bags, trays and boxes

• Yard and Plant Waste

 

The curbside collection program began in 2013, and expanded to serve 3.5 million city residents before the program was put on hold due to COVID-19.

 

Residents who are not able to participate in the curbside program but who want to put their food scraps to reuse may visit one of the 142 food scrap drop-off sites offered throughout all five boroughs. Food-scrap drop-off sites will further expand in the months to come.

 

The benefits of composting are highlighted each year during Compost Awareness Week, as reported. We also recently reported on the work carried out by local volunteers with composting at the Keepers’ House Edible Garden. In edition to composting,  residents who may wish to participate in clothes recycling can request a bin to be placed in their work place or residence which will also be collected regularly, as reported.

 

For more information on curbside composting or drop-off composting, visit nyc.gov/compost.