After conducting a successful waste to compost recycling program in Queens – the city’s second most populous borough – the city of New York has plans to expand the curbside composting program to all five boroughs by the end of 2024.
“Hiring our new rat czar will be just the beginning of a new era in delivering the best in public services and public spaces,” Mayor Eric Adams stated. “We’re going to get stuff cleaner by launching the country’s largest curbside composting program. By the end of 2024, all 8.5 million New Yorkers will finally have the rat-defying solution they’ve been waiting for for two decades.”
The expansion will take place in stages – restarting in Queens in March, then Brooklyn in October, Staten Island and the Bronx March 2024, and Manhattan in the fall of 2024. Residents who wish to participate can sign up to get a free 12 or 21 gallon brown composting bin which will be delivered directly to them. Residents are also encouraged to use their own bins. 150 additional smart composting bins will be placed in Manhattan for the borough to use in preparation of complete service. These orange bins will be available 24 hours and serviced regularly.
“We made it simple. Just give us anything from your kitchen or anything from your garden, in our bin or in your bin. Once a week, on your recycling day we will come pick it up,” said the city’s Department of Sanitation Commissioner Jessica Tisch.
Organics collected from the Queens pilot program were sent to two locations with existing city contracts for composting. The compost will be turned into fertilizer for parks, local gardens, and available for use by residents.