Hey New Yorkers, NYC Department of Sanitation and Big Reuse Curbside Compost Outreach Staff here to Answer Any Questions You Have About Curbside Composting. AMA!

Submitted by BigReuse t3_10k79ui in nyc

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Hello New York City, we are excited to be hosting our first AMA on Curbside Composting! We will be online from 10AM to 12PM EST. Check out this longer post with more information about the program: https://www.reddit.com/r/nyc/comments/10dlwd3/new_york_city_department_of_sanitation_and_the/

With us today we have:

Richard Day: Curbside Composting Team at the Department of Sanitation

Devyn Goldberg: Outreach Associate at Big Reuse

Shanshan Chan: Outreach Associate at Big Reuse

Taeho Lee: Outreach Associate at Big Reuse

Kaiqing Yang: Curbside Composting Outreach Intern

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EDIT: We are going to wrap up for the day but feel free to reach out to the Curbside Compost Outreach team at Big Reuse at compostoutreach@bigreuse.org or to the Compost Team at DSNY at makecompost@dsny.nyc.gov . If you missed the AMA but still have questions you can DM us here on reddit as well.

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DearEdison t1_j5p2816 wrote

I’d just like to voice my appreciation for this project and that I’m looking forward to it returning in the spring. Our family has done drop offs at collection sites previously, and this made things much easier.

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BigReuse OP t1_j5p6oxa wrote

Thank you so much for your participation :')

-TaeHo

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BigReuse OP t1_j5ovp4w wrote

u/famous_unicorn asked "Why are the bins so small?"

The bins are small because food waste is heavy! If a regular bin was full of food scraps it would weigh a ton (well, 100+ lbs). Keeping the bins smaller means they are easier for residents and building staff to move around.

-Richard

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BigReuse OP t1_j5otfjb wrote

u/stickykk asked "why is the plan discontinued during Dec - Mar? Organic waste still happens..."

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Great question! Part of why it is so successful is that it is modeled on best practices from other cities, including Toronto, San Francisco, Seattle, and Portland, where, in the early phases of their programs, the real emphasis was on leaf and yard waste. As such, at least for this first year, we are pausing when there is no leaf and yard waste, the dead of winter. Residents can still separate their organic materials from their recyclables and waste during the pause, although sanitation workers will toss the brown bins’ contents in with the garbage. We hope everyone will stay in the habit, and either use their bins, or make use of community composting sites or Smart Composting Bins. We have taken feedback from the Borough President and others about the desire for a year-round program and will be taking it into consideration for next year.

-Devyn

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Call_Me_Normal t1_j5ozvfp wrote

Is there any plan to make the free brown bins available again? We missed the window because we were moving at the time.

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BigReuse OP t1_j5p0wwr wrote

If you live in Brooklyn, Manhattan, Bronx, you can still request a brown bin if you are signing up for the first time.

In Queens while you cannot order brown bins now, there is the option to order bin decals here to place on your own bin under 55 gallons.

-Shanshan

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BonerTurds t1_j5ph0p8 wrote

My local coffee shop uses compostable cups and lids. I put them in my compost bin for pickup but the sanitation workers always leave the cups and lids behind. I’ve resorted to saving the cups and bringing them back to the shop to dispose of in their compost bin. Are they actually not compostable? Am I doing something incorrectly?

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girlfriday76 t1_j5rwn35 wrote

These are the non-food items that they take during curbside composting:

Paper towels and napkins, Paper plates, Compostable utensils, Coffee filters and tea bags, Paper bags, Paper trays and plant-based compostable trays, and Paper food boats.

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BigReuse OP t1_j5owe7c wrote

u/hbomberman asked I've never seen this at my residential building in Queens. Was this not in effect this past year? And if my building doesn't provide any compost bins, am I supposed to put out my personal bin/bag out on the curb on garbage day?

Thanks for asking this! The all-Queens program started just on October 3, 2022. Most larger buildings (>10 units) were automatically sent a starter compost bin, although certain mixed use buildings declined. If you live in a building >10 units I would encourage you to ask your landlord, as there may a bin in your building that has not been in use. If there isn't, you can indeed put out your own bin as well...

Smaller buildings will have needed to put in the request last fall. If you do not have a brown bin, you can get your compost collected by placing a decal (available free here) on your own bin that is under 55 gallons and has a secure lid.

You can also check this map for active Drop Off composting sites if you are having trouble participating within your building.

-Shanshan

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hbomberman t1_j5oyruc wrote

Thanks so much for the answer. My building has a small office that rents a unit on the ground floor, perhaps that makes it mixed use. But even if our building got the compost bin, I wouldn't be surprised if our building never put it out.

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stonecats t1_j5ubmuj wrote

> on October 3, 2022. Most larger buildings (>10 units)
were automatically sent a starter compost bin,

which within a week mostly and mysteriously disappeared.

i wish you people would admit forcing buildings to comply
will not work as well as simply hosting more robust bins
in our city parks, and get the parks department on board
instead of wasting money on flimsy owner hidden bins.
zoning laws in queens force parks in residential areas
making it the perfect place for a dept that is already
dealing with compost collection of leaf litter each fall.
i would much rather deposit a gallon container twice a
week in a nearby park, then play where's the bin now
games with lazy odor.bug.rodent fearful building staff.

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BigReuse OP t1_j5p6jyh wrote

u/SoccerMomXena asked Are there any plans in the future to make composting mandatory like recycling is? I'm not sure how anything else would budge a maintenance lead so resistant to any 'extra' work. Are there any other resources that could help? Thanks for the outreach!

Participating in Curbside Composting is a choice that makes our neighborhoods cleaner and our planet greener. While there are no fines for not participating in this free service, we hope that your building will give it a try. If the service does become mandatory, similar to recycling of metal, glass, plastic, and cartons, residents will be given official notification.

In the meantime, we're happy to speak to your maintenance director via phone call, email, presentation, etc. to talk about all of the benefits of participating and address whatever concerns they have about the service. Feel free to contact us at makecompost@dsny.nyc.gov or submit an event request using our event request form.

If you're interested in having that conversation yourself, I'd suggest checking out some of our outreach materials here: makecompost.nyc/resources. In particular, I'd recommend the "Quick Tips" flyer, "Use a Bin, Not a Bag" flyer, and the "Management Testimonials" flyer since those focus on some common concerns.

Lastly, if you're interested in taking on the responsibility yourself, you can try becoming a Building Compost Volunteer.

-Richard

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justpackingheat1 t1_j5oy9pv wrote

Are there plans in place to expand the smart bins program? I'm in South Brooklyn, so specifically asking for there, but if you have information on any other expansion plans, I'd be interested in hearing those as well. Thanks

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BigReuse OP t1_j5p7uur wrote

Currently 250 new Smart Compost Bins are being installed across all 5 boroughs, with emphasis on areas in Manhattan above 125th Street, the South Bronx, the North Shore of Staten Island, and Central Brooklyn.

While we can't provide any definitive announcements on further expansion, you can use the existing smart bins and keep tabs on new bins installed in your neighborhood with the NYC Compost App for apple or android.

-Devyn

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Taupenbeige t1_j5pka5k wrote

We just got one a block away this week in Crown Heights, we were ecstatic. Our profits-above-all Swedish management company continually refuses our requests to handle bins. Thank you for advocating for this.

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elizabeth-cooper t1_j5pbz4c wrote

What do you do with the compost?

How do you ensure that it's not contaminated?

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JunahCg t1_j5qa4l2 wrote

Yeah very curious too. I've pulled styrofoam other plastic bullshit out of brown bins before dumping my own. Feels werid someone would care enoguh to use the bins, but not enough to take out even the large and obvious plastic.

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elizabeth-cooper t1_j5qdi6x wrote

Found this.

>DSNY sends materials to compost facilities in the region. Every one of these facilities is equipped with equipment to remove plastic liners, packaging, and service ware, from food scraps and yard waste before they are composted or digested.

>Food scraps and yard waste from residents and schools on Staten Island are composted at DSNY’s Staten Island Compost Facility. Once finished, the compost is sold to landscapers and also used for greening projects in neighborhoods and parks throughout NYC.

>Some of the food scraps are turned into clean, renewable energy at the Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant.

https://www.makecompost.nyc/curbside-composting-faqs

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sickbabe t1_j5rtkrf wrote

I did an internship at the lower east side ecology center a few years ago, at the time I believe they were run out of every boroughs' botanic garden and the east river park in manhattan, and through those organizations you could get your own composted soil, but otherwise we used them to fill in tree pits when we were planting for spring. would be interested to know if/how the LESEC piles got relocated with the park under renovation.

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Ok-Friend8308 t1_j5pfg74 wrote

My household generates a lot of food scraps (rinds, vegetable skins, coffee grounds, used loose leaf tea, a bit of old leftovers, paper towels with food on it etc) and I feel so terrible throwing it away now when I know it could be composted. Any future plans for running year round for food waste at least?

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JunahCg t1_j5q9pul wrote

Most of the farmers markets collect the plant-based compost on weekends. If you want to keep collecting you probably could.

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roofles t1_j5paxt2 wrote

Our building is six units and overflows the small brown bin on the regular. Is there any way to request the slightly larger size that I see around the neighborhood?

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BigReuse OP t1_j5pc6pw wrote

Thank you for your question and your and your neighbors' participation in our program!

When you have an extra volume of organic waste that's more than your brown bin can handle, you can use any of your personal bin(s) that's less than 55 gallons and has a secure lid and this decal (it's free to order). Then, sanitation will collect food scraps in your brown bin and the additional bin with the decal.

-TaeHo

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[deleted] t1_j5otitd wrote

[removed]

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BigReuse OP t1_j5p53b4 wrote

You do need a yard if you want to do outdoor composting, or you don't need one if you want to do it in your home by using worms!
You can participate in curbside composting if you live in an NYC community board that's eligible for the weekly organic waste collection service. As of today, here are the eligible community boards for the service:

  • Brooklyn 1 (Williamsburg, Greenpoint)
  • Brooklyn 2 (DUMBO, Downtown Brooklyn, Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, Brooklyn Heights)
  • Brooklyn 6 (Red Hook, Gowanus, Carroll
    Gardens, Park Slope)
  • Brooklyn 7 (Sunset Park, Industry City, Windsor Terrace, South Slope)
  • Manhattan 6 (Stuy Town & Peter Cooper Village, Midtown East, Murray Hill)
  • Manhattan 7 (Manhattan Valley, Upper West Side, Lincoln Square)
    Bronx 8 (Kingsbridge, Riverdale)
  • All community boards in Queens will be eligible for the service starting on 3/27.

If you live outside of those community boards, you can collect your food scraps and bring them to Food Scrap Drop-Off (FSDO) sites or our Bigbelly™️ Smart Bins that are peppered throughout the city. You can look them up at nyc.gov/dropfoodscraps. Please be mindful of the operating hours for FSDOs and the app instruction for Smart Bins (Smart Bins don't open when they are full!).

For more resources check out our website and makecompost.nyc for exciting events and volunteering opportunities for composting in the city!

-TaeHo

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jddh1 t1_j5pzz40 wrote

Should I put the food scraps and garden weeds inside a bag and if so, what color? Or should I not use a bag at all inside the brown bag?

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purpleblah2 t1_j5plm8e wrote

I have a worm compost bin under my sink :)

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Mak3mydae t1_j5qj1nd wrote

Can you put in items that say they're "commercially compostable"?

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fs2k2isfun t1_j5r01bh wrote

My landlord (Brooklyn) refuses to get a brown bin because he is worried about rodents and smells. What options do I have as a tenant to compost?

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purpleblah2 t1_j5tmfkh wrote

Freeze the scraps and carry them to a nearby community garden to compost, or get an indoor worm compost bin and buy some red wrigglers to eat all your organic compost and shredded paper.

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soupdumplinglover t1_j5oykzl wrote

I live in lower Manhattan and currently drop off compost in bins near my home. Are there any plans for pickup here? Specifically on the LES or EV? Would signing a petition or reaching out to electeds help?

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BigReuse OP t1_j5p63ct wrote

Unfortunately, there are not currently any plans for Curbside Composting in the Lower East Side or East Village. We understand the demand New Yorkers have for this service. Sanitation will continue to work with the City’s administration to offer the best service model to help New Yorkers divert food waste from landfills.

While our work focuses on providing outreach on curbside composting as it stands, advocacy for further access is always an option! There are currently two pieces of legislation geared toward expanding access to composting in the city. Intro 244 spearheaded by Councilmember Shahana Hanif would make curbside composting universal across NYC and Intro 863 proposed by Councilmember Lincoln Restler would expand public compost containers to the entire city.

-Devyn

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MyNameIsRobPaulson t1_j5sglr9 wrote

Hey I have a question - what is so bad about organic matter being sent to the dump? Doesn’t it just return to the earth just as well there anyway? Just curious about the advantages of a specific collection vs all that matter going to landfill.

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12stTales t1_j5t8wa4 wrote

When it’s in a dump it becomes so compressed that it doesn’t break down properly. It decomposes anaerobically, releasing methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Also composting is done locally whereas all the local landfills are full. So landfill waste needs to be trucked farther which requires lots of fuel, money and puts lots of wear and tear on roads. Last, composting produces fertile soil for reuse in gardens, parks and tree pits.

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Ok-Strain-9847 t1_j5pm1sf wrote

Just throw it in the subway like everyone else does.

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