BRONX, MANHATTAN, STATEN ISLAND: Two Months Ahead of Launch of First-Ever Citywide Curbside Composting Program, Residents of These Three Boroughs Can Now Order a FREE Brown Bin from DSNY
August 1, 2024
Largest, easiest curbside composting program ever is already running in Brooklyn and Queens and massively increasing diversion from landfill; comes permanently to rest of City week of October 6
All leaf and yard waste, food scraps, and food-soiled paper to be collected on existing recycling day – IT'S THAT SIMPLE!
NEW YORK – The New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY) today announced that with curbside composting coming to the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island beginning October 6, residents of those boroughs can now request a FREE brown bin for their compostable material at nyc.gov/curbsidecomposting. Putting compostable material in a separate, secure bin is a key part of the City's War on Rats.
"Curbside composting fights rats and helps the planet. It's a win-win – especially when it's easier than ever – and residents of the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island can order free compost bins now. Mayor Adams promised to bring this program to all five boroughs, and this October, that promise will be fulfilled," said Jessica Tisch, Commissioner, NYC Sanitation.
This program is simple to use: just put anything from your kitchen or anything from your garden out in your composting bin on your recycling day, right next to the metal, glass, plastic, and paper recycling you already set out.
Over the decade prior to the Adams administration, composting programs in New York City had been beset by stops and starts and complicated rules. That changed beginning in Fall 2022, when an easy-to-use, universal curbside composting program began serving every address in Queens. That program – no sign-ups, no special days, no limited hours – is now operating in approximately half the City, Brooklyn and Queens, and comes to the remaining three boroughs the week of October 6, after which it will be permanent and citywide.
Many residents of these boroughs already have a composting bin, and unlike in past programs, they may also use their own bin provided it is 55 gallons or less and has a secure lid; however, bin orders are open now at nyc.gov/curbsidecomposting. Orders will remain open until October 28, but must be placed this month to guarantee delivery before the start of service.
Brooklyn and Queens residents were given the opportunity to order free bins before service began in their boroughs. That said, for the first time, they can now purchase additional or replacement bins if needed at www.bins.nyc, the same website where the Official NYC Bin for trash is sold. As a reminder, under the law, separation of compostable material is mandatory after service begins in each borough, with DSNY authorized to write summonses beginning in the Spring of 2025.
In addition to the largest, easiest curbside composting program ever, New York City is now home to approximately 400 Smart Composting Bins, 24-hour drop-off sites where New Yorkers can bring anything from their kitchen and anything from their garden to be put to beneficial reuse. And, earlier this year, Mayor Adams fulfilled a campaign promise by bringing DSNY collection of compostable material to every single NYC public school.
Material collected through these programs is turned into either renewable energy to heat homes or into compost sold to landscapers and given away free to New Yorkers for use in their yards and gardens. Without these programs, it would all go to landfill, becoming nothing but harmful greenhouse gasses. In Fiscal Year 2023, DSNY diverted approximately 211 million pounds of compostable material from landfill – up from 165 million the year before – and this citywide rollout will balloon those incredible numbers even further.