Sunday, May 18, 2014

Yes, You CAN Compost in New York City!

Summer is inching closer in New York City, and that means its time to get back to your local Greenmarket. This year, consider going even greener and bringing your indoor food scraps to select Greenmarkets to be composted. Your food scraps and other organic waste can be turned into soil rather than just deposited in a landfill. Currently, 38 Greenmarkets across the five boroughs offer composting. While some markets, like the one at Union Square, are open year round, many are seasonal. Find your local Greenmarket composting schedule here.

You can read more about composting at grownyc.org, and find answers to your questions about composting, such as, "What can I bring to the compost collection sites?": "Accepted materials include fruit and vegetable scraps, non-greasy food scraps (rice, pasta, bread, cereal etc.), coffee grounds & filters, tea bags, egg and nut shells, pits, cut or dried flowers, houseplants and potting soil. [Please NO meat, chicken, fish, greasy food scraps, fat, oil, dairy, animal waste, litter or bedding, coal or charcoal, coconuts, diseased and/or insect-infested houseplants/soil or biodegradable/compostable plastics.]" 

You can also set up your own compost bin at home. In Worms in the City, Apartment Composting, Video Journalist Karlyn Michelson* visits the Lower East Side Ecology Center and reports on how New Yorkers with no access to indoor space can compost their food scraps indoors using earth worms, or "red wigglers".

Read more about indoor and outdoor composting in NYC at NYCWasteLess, and find other ideas for home composting here.

*Karlyn Michelson is an Emmy award-winning filmmaker, producer and video journalist. 

1 comment:

  1. Quite a different venue from your usual events or restaurants.

    ReplyDelete