NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — The nation's "largest" composting program will be centered in Queens starting this fall, with weekly curbside service offered to all its over 2 million residents, Mayor Eric Adams and Department of Sanitation Commissioner Jessica Tisch announced Monday.
Starting Oct. 3, all residential buildings in Queens will automatically receive weekly collection of leaf and yard waste, food scraps and food-soiled paper products — the first time that an entire borough will receive this service.
"This launch makes New York City home to the largest curbside composting program in the country and will help Queens residents easily get rid of yard waste, food scraps, and food-soiled paper products in an environmentally conscious way," Adams said in a statement. "There’s no sign-up required, and all that Queens residents need to do it put out their waste in a separate bag or bin. This is how we 'Get Stuff Done' for our city."
Queens residents need to simply set out their waste on the assigned day, which will be announced by the DSNY by mid-September. That waste will then be picked up to be turned into usable compost or clean, renewable energy.
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"Mayor Adams tasked us with developing a new program that would be effective, affordable, and equitable," Tisch said in a statement. “We looked at what had worked in the past, as well as what hadn’t, and developed a smart, innovative solution that is going to be easier for the people of New York City, harder for rats, and better for the planet."
To make this program even more accessible, DSNY will proactively deliver bins to all Queens residential addresses of 10 or more units in the coming weeks.
Weekly service will begin on Oct. 3 and run through late December. After a three-month pause for winter — when there is little to no yard waste to be collected — service will resume in late March 2023.
Adams on Monday also announced the placement of 250 new "smart" composting bins this fall — vastly more than the 100 promised earlier this year. Each of the bins will be publicly accessible and can be opened using a smartphone app.
"Since the start of the year, we have provided funding to put organics collection in every public school, added 250 smart composting bins to our streets, launched a citywide containerization pilot, and increased litter basket collection. And this is just the beginning," Deputy Mayor for Operations Meera Joshi said.
Click here for more information and to request a bin online by the Oct. 1 deadline.
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