Thank you for your question and your and your neighbors' participation in our program!

When you have an extra volume of organic waste that's more than your brown bin can handle, you can use any of your personal bin(s) that's less than 55 gallons and has a secure lid and this decal (it's free to order). Then, sanitation will collect food scraps in your brown bin and the additional bin with the decal.

-TaeHo

Currently 250 new Smart Compost Bins are being installed across all 5 boroughs, with emphasis on areas in Manhattan above 125th Street, the South Bronx, the North Shore of Staten Island, and Central Brooklyn.

While we can't provide any definitive announcements on further expansion, you can use the existing smart bins and keep tabs on new bins installed in your neighborhood with the NYC Compost App for apple or android.

-Devyn

Thank you so much for your participation :')

-TaeHo

u/SoccerMomXena asked Are there any plans in the future to make composting mandatory like recycling is? I'm not sure how anything else would budge a maintenance lead so resistant to any 'extra' work. Are there any other resources that could help? Thanks for the outreach!

Participating in Curbside Composting is a choice that makes our neighborhoods cleaner and our planet greener. While there are no fines for not participating in this free service, we hope that your building will give it a try. If the service does become mandatory, similar to recycling of metal, glass, plastic, and cartons, residents will be given official notification.

In the meantime, we're happy to speak to your maintenance director via phone call, email, presentation, etc. to talk about all of the benefits of participating and address whatever concerns they have about the service. Feel free to contact us at makecompost@dsny.nyc.gov or submit an event request using our event request form.

If you're interested in having that conversation yourself, I'd suggest checking out some of our outreach materials here: makecompost.nyc/resources. In particular, I'd recommend the "Quick Tips" flyer, "Use a Bin, Not a Bag" flyer, and the "Management Testimonials" flyer since those focus on some common concerns.

Lastly, if you're interested in taking on the responsibility yourself, you can try becoming a Building Compost Volunteer.

-Richard

Unfortunately, there are not currently any plans for Curbside Composting in the Lower East Side or East Village. We understand the demand New Yorkers have for this service. Sanitation will continue to work with the City’s administration to offer the best service model to help New Yorkers divert food waste from landfills.

While our work focuses on providing outreach on curbside composting as it stands, advocacy for further access is always an option! There are currently two pieces of legislation geared toward expanding access to composting in the city. Intro 244 spearheaded by Councilmember Shahana Hanif would make curbside composting universal across NYC and Intro 863 proposed by Councilmember Lincoln Restler would expand public compost containers to the entire city.

-Devyn

You do need a yard if you want to do outdoor composting, or you don't need one if you want to do it in your home by using worms!
You can participate in curbside composting if you live in an NYC community board that's eligible for the weekly organic waste collection service. As of today, here are the eligible community boards for the service:

• Brooklyn 1 (Williamsburg, Greenpoint)
• Brooklyn 2 (DUMBO, Downtown Brooklyn, Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, Brooklyn Heights)
• Brooklyn 6 (Red Hook, Gowanus, Carroll
  Gardens, Park Slope)
• Brooklyn 7 (Sunset Park, Industry City, Windsor Terrace, South Slope)
• Manhattan 6 (Stuy Town & Peter Cooper Village, Midtown East, Murray Hill)
• Manhattan 7 (Manhattan Valley, Upper West Side, Lincoln Square)
  Bronx 8 (Kingsbridge, Riverdale)
• All community boards in Queens will be eligible for the service starting on 3/27.

If you live outside of those community boards, you can collect your food scraps and bring them to Food Scrap Drop-Off (FSDO) sites or our Bigbelly™️ Smart Bins that are peppered throughout the city. You can look them up at nyc.gov/dropfoodscraps. Please be mindful of the operating hours for FSDOs and the app instruction for Smart Bins (Smart Bins don't open when they are full!).

For more resources check out our website and makecompost.nyc for exciting events and volunteering opportunities for composting in the city!

-TaeHo

If you live in Brooklyn, Manhattan, Bronx, you can still request a brown bin if you are signing up for the first time.

In Queens while you cannot order brown bins now, there is the option to order bin decals here to place on your own bin under 55 gallons.

-Shanshan

u/hbomberman asked I've never seen this at my residential building in Queens. Was this not in effect this past year? And if my building doesn't provide any compost bins, am I supposed to put out my personal bin/bag out on the curb on garbage day?

Thanks for asking this! The all-Queens program started just on October 3, 2022. Most larger buildings (>10 units) were automatically sent a starter compost bin, although certain mixed use buildings declined. If you live in a building >10 units I would encourage you to ask your landlord, as there may a bin in your building that has not been in use. If there isn't, you can indeed put out your own bin as well...

Smaller buildings will have needed to put in the request last fall. If you do not have a brown bin, you can get your compost collected by placing a decal (available free here) on your own bin that is under 55 gallons and has a secure lid.

You can also check this map for active Drop Off composting sites if you are having trouble participating within your building.

-Shanshan

u/famous_unicorn asked "Why are the bins so small?"

The bins are small because food waste is heavy! If a regular bin was full of food scraps it would weigh a ton (well, 100+ lbs). Keeping the bins smaller means they are easier for residents and building staff to move around.

-Richard

u/stickykk asked "why is the plan discontinued during Dec - Mar? Organic waste still happens..."

​

Great question! Part of why it is so successful is that it is modeled on best practices from other cities, including Toronto, San Francisco, Seattle, and Portland, where, in the early phases of their programs, the real emphasis was on leaf and yard waste. As such, at least for this first year, we are pausing when there is no leaf and yard waste, the dead of winter. Residents can still separate their organic materials from their recyclables and waste during the pause, although sanitation workers will toss the brown bins’ contents in with the garbage. We hope everyone will stay in the habit, and either use their bins, or make use of community composting sites or Smart Composting Bins. We have taken feedback from the Borough President and others about the desire for a year-round program and will be taking it into consideration for next year.

-Devyn