Amidst safety concerns and budget cuts resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, New York City temporarily suspended its city-funded curbside and drop-off composting services last March. Thankfully, in the past few weeks, several neighborhood groups and nonprofit organizations have stepped up to provide an option for New Yorkers to recycle their organic waste, which makes up roughly 1/3 of our city’s waste stream! Whether you’ve been collecting your food scraps in the freezer for months or want to start composting for the first time, below are some resources to get you started. Please be sure to click through the links and review acceptable materials as they vary from site to site.
Food Scrap Drop-Off Sites: These sites allow you to drop off your food scraps at a designated time and date, either for free or for a small fee.
- Domino Park (Williamsburg)
- North Brooklyn Compost Project (Greenpoint & Williamsburg)
- BK Rot (Bushwick)
- NurtureBK (Prospect Lefferts Garden & Flatbush)
- Naturebased NY (Gowanus)
- Woodside/Sunnyside Composting (Woodside & Sunnyside)
- Lower East Side Ecology Center (Lower East Side/East Village)
Microhaulers: Microhaulers will pick up your food scraps at your home for a fee. They often rely on no- or low-emission vehicles for transportation, such as bikes.
- Reclaimed Organics (Manhattan- South of 86th Street)
- BK Rot (Bushwick, Ridgewood, Bedford-Stuyvesant)
- Vokashi (NYC + Westchester)
- @AstoriaPug (Astoria)
- BK Green Cart (North Central Brooklyn)
Lastly, for those who are located outside of New York City or want to take on a Summer project, be sure to check out NYC Compost Project’s guides to outdoor and indoor composting!
UPDATED 9/20: Please visit NYC Food Scrap Drop-Off Sites during COVID-19 by A Healthy Blueprint for a comprehensive list of all active drop-off sites.