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How to compost in New York City

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NYC wants to eliminate all of its landfill waste by 2030 — a huge task for a city of 8 million people, who collectively generate over 10,000 tons of waste per day. Composting, through accessible and widely available food scrap collection, is a key piece of that plan. Here’s what to know about joining the movement. 

How to compost in NYC 

Lucky for you and anyone else who’d like to put their food scraps to better use, there are a handful of great ways to compost within New York City, each of which can fit different lifestyles.

Participate in the curbside pickup program 

NYC’s Department of Sanitation (DSNY) began rolling out curbside composting services in early 2023; it will be available in each borough by October 2024. Programs for Queens and Brooklyn residents were the first to go live, followed by the Bronx and Staten Island in March 2024. Manhattan’s curbside service becomes available the first week of October 2024. No sign-up or registration is required.

Participating landlords, building managers, and residents can purchase an official DSNY brown bin (currently less than $45) for compost collection, or provide their own: bins must be 55 gallons or less, with a secure lid, lined, and marked with a free city decal. Compost collection is the same as your designated recycling day; you can find your pick-up schedule here. 

What’s accepted, and what’s not: Residents may compost leaf and yard waste, food scraps (including meat, bones, dairy, prepared foods, and produce), and food-soiled paper, like greasy uncoated paper plates and pizza boxes. 

Trash (like personal hygiene products, diapers, animal waste, non-paper packaging, and foam products) or recyclable materials should not be placed in brown compost bins. 

Drop off your scraps at a designated site

For households without dedicated curbside bins, there are 250 composting drop-off sites throughout the city. There are two variations: regular drop-off compost sites, and bright orange “smart” composting bins. Both are emptied regularly by sanitation workers, and the finished compost produced from their contents are put to work enriching green spaces across the city. 

What’s accepted, and what’s not: Regular drop-off sites allow most fruit and vegetable scraps and plant waste, but do not allow bones, meat, or dairy. Smart bins, on the other hand, do allow bones, meat, and dairy, alongside paper packaging like ungreased paper plates and ungreased pizza boxes.

Support a community organization

Community organizations — like a public garden or resource recovery group such as Big Reuse and the Lower East Side Ecology Center — offer a time-honored way to both contribute to and benefit from organic waste collection. Thanks to support from the city council, and philanthropic funding in response to recent budget cuts, many of these services, like those based at the Queens Botanical Garden, and Union Square Green market, operate food scrap drop-off sites that are open to all, process organic scraps into compost, and host give-back events.

What’s accepted, and what’s not: Material guidelines differ slightly per program, so it’s best practice to check with your local organization before dropping off any organic waste. Most accept produce scraps, egg shells, and a wide range of pantry items, but many won’t accept meat, fish, bones, or ingredients like cooking oil.

Mill 

The Mill food recycler can be used in conjunction with all the methods above, and improve your day-to-day organic waste management in between curbside pick-ups or trips to the drop-off site. Mill transforms food scraps, and uneaten leftovers into dry, compact Food Grounds, saving you freezer space in-between weekly drop-offs, constant trips to the curb and eliminating odors while you’re at it. Food Grounds can then be added to a brown bin, municipal or community drop-off site, or sent back to Mill so it can get back to the farm.

What if you want to make or use compost in NYC?

If you’re an avid city gardener in need of soil-enriching “black gold,” there are numerous ways to receive free compost made from the city’s organic waste. 

  • Give-back events: The DSNY hosts regular “Big Apple Compost” give-back events at the Staten Island Compost Facility, and sites in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, and Queens. Registration opens two weeks before each event, and is limited to one ticket per person. Organizations interested in bulk compost can request an appointment, or arrange a bagged drop-off (though space is limited). 

  • Vermicompost, or worm bins: If you’re interested in homemade compost, but don’t have enough space for a large backyard pile, worm bins are apartment-friendly and can be maintained indoors without worrying about odors or pests. You can add food scraps directly to the bins (with some caveats), and its earthworm inhabitants process the organics into vermicompost, a nutrient-rich soil amendment. 

  • Mill Food Grounds: While the dry, odorless Food Grounds produced by your Mill are not the same as finished compost, they are still a potent and nutrient-rich way to supercharge your soil. Spreading your Food Grounds onto your lawn, or directly into garden soil increases soil fertility: While microbes break down the fresh organic matter, the immediate benefits transfer to the surrounding soil. If you have enough space for a backyard compost pile, you can add food grounds to the mix, or use them in a worm bin. For more specifics, check Mill’s homeowner guide.   

Reduce food waste with Mill

If finished compost is the final stage of a waste management solution, reducing the amount of food wasted is step one. A recent survey of Mill users found a 20% decrease in wasted food after only four months — just by incorporating a dedicated process for scraps. Access to solutions can change our habits for the better.

Sources:

  1. New York City Department of Sanitation: “Trash.” https://www.nyc.gov/site/dsny/collection/residents/trash.page

  2. New York League of Conservation Voters: “NYC Needs Common Sense Waste Management Now.” February 18, 2022. https://nylcv.org/news/nyc-needs-common-sense-waste-management-now

  3. Duramax Holdings: “Bins.” https://www.bins.nyc/

  4. New York City Department of Sanitation: “Composting Bin Decal (to put on a bin you already own).” https://sanitation.my.site.com/recyclingmaterialsrequest

  5. New York City Department of Sanitation: “Collection Schedule.” https://www.nyc.gov/assets/dsny/forms/collection-schedule

  6. New York City Department of Sanitation: “Food Scrap Drop-Off.” https://www.nyc.gov/site/dsny/collection/residents/food-scrap-drop-off.page

  7. Big Reuse: “NYC Compost Project Hosted by Big Reuse.” https://bigreuse.org/pages/compost

  8. Lower East Side Ecology Center: “LES Ecology Center.” https://www.lesecologycenter.org/

  9. Mill: “NYC Community Composting Organizations Big Reuse, Earth Matter NY and LES Ecology Center Race to Secure Additional Philanthropic Funding as a Temporary Fix in Light of City Budget Cuts.” December 20, 2023. https://www.mill.com/news/nyc

  10. Queens Botanical Garden: “Public Food Scrap Drop-Off Sites (FSDOs).” https://queensbotanical.org/compost-fsdo/

  11. New York City Department of Sanitation: “Compost Givebacks.” https://www.nyc.gov/site/dsny/what-we-do/programs/compost-givebacks.page

  12. Mill: “Homeowner Guidance for using Food Grounds.” https://www.mill.com/blog/homeowner-guidance-food-grounds

  13. Mill: “Mill Unveils First-of-its-Kind Data on Household Food Waste and Proof of Consumer Behavior Change at Home.” June 18, 2024. https://www.mill.com/news/mill-unveils-household-food-waste-data-and-behavior-change

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