This fall, New York’s Department of Sanitation (DSNY) is relaunching the city’s curbside compost pickup program. But, if you’ve kept up with our recent compost reporting, you know that Bushwick residents will still be ineligible for the service, at least for the time being.
Why is that?
And, perhaps more importantly, what can Bushwick residents do to bring curbside composting to the neighborhood?
We checked in with the DSNY to find out.
Like before the pandemic, residents in certain NYC neighborhoods (highlighted in orange on the map above) will still be able to put their food scraps, food-soiled paper and yard waste in little brown compost bins and have it picked up by the city. But those in other neighborhoods (highlighted in yellow on the map), won’t be eligible for the program when it starts back up this October.
“All neighborhoods that had previously received curbside composting service are eligible to sign up and be considered for service, but not all of these neighborhoods will necessarily receive it immediately,” Vincent Gragnani, press secretary for the DSNY, explained to Bushwick Daily.
“Due to budget constraints, we are resuming service on a rolling basis, designing smart routes in areas where signups are most concentrated to minimize greenhouse gas emissions,” Gragnani added. “Based on the concentration of signups, we will begin service next week in our sanitation district that encompasses Community Board 6 in Brooklyn – Red Hook, Gowanus, Carroll Gardens and Park Slope.”
Unlike before the pandemic, those living in eligible neighborhoods who want composting must sign up. The idea behind this measure is to increase efficiency, as, before the pandemic, trucks would drive entire routes and pick up minimal compost.
For those who simply want to bring curbside composting to their neighborhoods, the DSNY encourages “expressing interest” by filling out the same sign up form.
“To be clear, areas that did not have curbside composting before the pandemic are not being considered at this point for our initial round of rollouts,” Gragnani explained. “We still encourage all residents to express their interest online so that we know where interest is distributed.”
When asked how many Bushwick residents need to sign up before the program is brought to the neighborhood, the DSNY did not provide an answer.
The organization did, however, provide links with information on how to compost at home and where to bring food scraps.
To make it even easier, we’ve listed out some of the nearby compost drop off locations, with details, below.
Location: 1309 Dekalb Ave.
Open months: Year round
Days and hours: Sundays 12:00 – 3:00 p.m.
Not accepted: meat, dairy, oil or pet waste
Bushwick Grows! Community Garden
Location: 1474 Gates Ave
Open months: Seasonal, May-November
Days and hours: Saturdays, 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Location: 1035 Lafayette Ave.
Open months: Year round
Days and hours: Thursdays, 1:00 – 4:00 p.m.
Location: 219 McKibben St.
Open months: Year round
Days and hours: Mondays – Fridays 7:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.; Saturdays 7:00 a.m – 1:00 p.m.
Not accepted: Meat, bones, dairy or oil
Featured image: Paige Cromley
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bushwick city farm (open on weekends) also has compost drop off! just walk in and someone can show you where it is.