New York City has announced that they are expanding their compost program from a pilot program one boro to the entire city. The initiative will start after a winter hiatus of the Queens pilot, which is set to return on March 27. Brooklyn curbside service will begin Oct. 2, followed by the Bronx and Staten Island next Spring. Manhattan has to wait for their curbside program until next October, “with access for every New Yorker by the end of 2024,” according to a statement from the mayor’s office.
This opens up curbside composting to over 8.5 million New York residents making it the largest composting program in the country.
Many food items, including fruits, vegetables, eggshells, coffee, tea, nuts, dried flowers, bread, grains, and pasta, are compostable in the program.
The New York City Sanitation Department’s website has drop-off locations, hours, and the items they accept.
This is an exciting development for New York residents that is expected to reduce the number of rats (less curbside trash), reduce pollution and add back to the environment.
By October 2024, it will be mandatory for all New York Residents to separate compostable waste if they want to avoid a fine. The New York City Council passed the new legislation in June of 2023 to work towards zero divertible waste by 2030. An ambitious but doable egoal. The legislation provides a number of requirements for the New York Department of Sanitation and residents alike and it’s called the Zero Waste Program.