Curbside Organics Collection Expands To North Slope And Gowanus
The expanded organic waste recycling program began in our area this past Monday, and will happen on your regular garbage days. You’ll now be able to leave organic materials such as food waste, food-soiled paper, and yard waste at the curb, and the Department of Sanitation (DOS) will collect them twice a week. Instructions are available here. According to the DOS, these items comprise 31% of our waste stream.
A map is available here to confirm the expanded neighborhoods.
Organics Collection Guidelines
Separate organic waste from your trash and other recyclables. Collect food scraps and food-soiled paper in a kitchen food-scraps container, or in any container or bag. Store the container or bag in a convenient place, such as on the countertop, under the sink, or in the freezer, until your pickup day.
You may line your container with an acceptable bag or liner for easy clean up. Acceptable bags or liners include newspaper, a brown paper bag, or certified compostable bag that bears the BPI-USCC logo. (Here’s a map to find local stores that carry compostable bags.)
Empty organic waste into your brown bin. To reduce waste, don’t use a liner. Otherwise you can use one of the acceptable liner options listed above; or use a clear plastic liner (least preferred option because plastic is not compostable). No other plastic bags are permitted.
Set out the brown bin at the curb for collection.
Set out yard waste, in tied bundles or an appropriate container or bag:
• The provided brown organics bin.
• A rigid container labeled “Yard Waste.”
• Paper lawn and leaf bags.
• Compostable bags (don’t use black bags, since yard waste set out in black bags will be collected as garbage).
• For our borough: no wood debris or firewood. You must contact the Parks Department for disposal due to the Asian Long-Horned Beetle quarantine.
Buildings of 10 or more units are encouraged to opt-in to the program.
Further information can be found at the NYC Organic Collection website.
