NEW YORK (PIX11) – Hold on to your food scraps and outdoor clippings.
Composting is being expanded and required city-wide as of October 6, 2024.
Neighbors in the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island are receiving notices about the new service and rules.
The NYC Department of Sanitation is holding online workshops in August and September.
Free bins and labels can also be requested from the city.
Commissioner Jessica Tisch says composting has removed hundreds of millions of pounds of food waste from landfills.
"From the kitchen or from yard, we say 'cook or grow you can throw it.' If there are concerns, talk to your super," she said.
Mayor Eric Adams and the city council have prioritized composting. The administration has changed trash collection times and containers. In 2022, Queens became the first borough to get the service from DSNY. Brooklyn was added in 2023.
It’s year-round every week, with collection on the regular recycling day for the street.
Buildings of all sizes are required to provide access to composting bins.
Evette Zayas lives in East Harlem and has a restaurant called CakeBurgers. She saves food scraps and takes them to a local drop-off.
She wonders how people will receive the new program.
"There's 656 units in my building. They're not going to want to keep it in their refrigerators, and there's no space downstairs," she said.
Food scraps have been part of the waste stream. The city wants people to help redirect it on a larger scale.
Many neighborhoods and community gardens offer composting. The city has been testing compost bins on some corners.
Compost Power is a group that creates composting programs and gardens. Brandon Nixon talks to neighbors about the process and has advice.
"You can have a small bin in your refrigerator or freezer. It slows the decomposition and doesn't smell as much," he said.
The mandatory program is set to be city wide in October. Fines could be imposed in the spring, as part of the new regulations.
Recycling fines range from $25 to $400, depending on the offense and size of the building.
