After finding itself with an excess of compost, the city will open a compost distribution site in Greenpoint next month, where urban gardeners can pick up sone “black gold” for free.
The site will open at 459 N. Henry Street on Aug. 3, and will be open for pickup on Wednesdays between 5-7 p.m. and Saturdays from 8-10 a.m. though the end of September. It will be just the second city-run compost distribution facility in New York City.
The first, at the Staten Island Compost Facility, is “not always convenient,” according to the city’s Department of Sanitation, and the facility was recently expanded and is now producing more compost than ever.
“Over the last several years, DSNY has produced tens of millions of pounds of finished compost at our massive Staten Island compost facility – so much that one distribution site just isn’t enough for every composter in the City to access the fruits of their labors,” said DSNY commissioner Jessica Tisch, in a statement. “As curbside composting comes to all five boroughs, bring your green thumb to Greenpoint and get free compost made from your food scraps and yard waste.”
Roughly one-third of New York City’s waste is compostable, per city data. When that waste is brought to landfill, starved of oxygen and microorganisms, it can’t break down properly, and ends up creating greenhouses gases like methane.
When properly composted, it turns into a nutrient-dense soil additive, perfect for gardens and tree beds. Many New Yorkers use it in urban gardens or even in plant pots or window boxes. But compost has recently become a little harder to come by in Brooklyn.
Though the city has rolled out hundreds of Smart Compost bins and implemented curbside composting in Brooklyn and Queens, most of the organic waste collected by DSNY is processed to create biogas and fertilizer at the Newtown Creek Wastewater Resource Recovery Facility.
Most of the city’s compost collection and distribution programs are funded by the city but run by community organizations.
GrowNYC, for example, used to collect organic waste from locals at its weekly greenmarkets, like the one at Grand Army Plaza. Other organizations, like Big Reuse, collect the waste haul it to their central composting sites, and eventually distribute it.
But GrowNYC and Big Reuse were forced to shut down their programs in May, months after after Mayor Eric Adams ordered DSNY to cut its budget by 5% — including $3 million for community composting programs.
In June, Adams and the City Council restored $6.2 million for community composting programs. The Big Reuse website promises a return of its composting programs soon, though it has not yet shared exact details.
GrowNYC’s programs, though, won’t be returning any time soon. In a July 11 Facebook post, the organization said the one-year discretionary funding it received is just 10% of its old zero-waste budget – not enough to restore its previous compost programs.
“This isn’t goodbye —we’re taking a strategic pause to re-envision our Zero Waste programs,” the organization wrote. “Together with others, we are seeing how we can best create new, sustainable solutions for reducing NYC’s waste footprint.”
North Brooklynites can still drop their organic waste off at the Domino Park Greenmarket, since that operation is self-funded. Curbside compost pick-up is available all over Brooklyn — residents can look up their specific schedule and set out their organics on the curb in a properly-labeled bin for DSNY.
To pick up compost in Greenpoint starting on Aug. 3, locals must register for a slot ahead of time. Registration is currently open for Aug. 3 and 7.
