Food scraps constitute about 17.7%, approximately 650,000 tons annually, of the total NYC DSNY-managed waste stream.

There are a number of factors that make curbside collection of food scraps challenging for the NYC Department of Sanitation. However, the NYC Department of Sanitation has begun collecting and composting food scraps that NYC residents drop-off at neighborhood locations through the newly launched NYC Compost Project Local Organics Recovery Program (ORP) and the DSNY & GrowNYC Food Waste Drop-Off Program. 

nyc compost project local organics recovery program
nyc department of sanitation & grownyc food waste drop-off program
list of acceptable food scraps 
school food waste composting pilot 

ALSO SEE:
Neighborhood-Based Food Waste Drop-Off Sites
Community-Based Compost Sites 

 NYC Compost Project Local Organics Recovery Program

DSNY’s Bureau of Waste Prevention, Reuse and Recycling (BWPRR) launched the NYC Compost Project Local Organics Recovery Program (ORP) in the spring of 2012 to provide NYC residents with a wider range of food scrap drop-off opportunities and to ensure that those food scraps were composted locally.
 
The NYC Compost Project Local Organics Recovery Program (ORP) currently involves BIG!Compost , Earth Matter NY , and the New Amsterdam Market . The charts below identify NYC Compost Project Local Organics Recovery Program (ORP) food scrap drop-off sites and composting sites in Manhattan (MN), Queens (QN), and on Governors Island (MN-GI.)

The chart below lists compost sites managed by the NYC Compost Project Local Organics Recovery Program (ORP). At these compost sites, ORP staff process organic materials that residents have dropped off at the food scrap drop-off locations listed above.

View our Neighborhood-Based Food Waste Drop-Off Sites page for complete info about Food Scrap Drop-Off Sites and hours.

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This program is a partnership between the City of New York, the NYC Department of Sanitation, GrowNYC , the NYC Compost Project Local Organics Recovery Program, the Lower East Side Ecology Center , and a range of other community partners. The chart below identifies GrowNYC GreenMarket locations that are being serviced by DSNY.

View our Neighborhood-Based Food Waste Drop-Off Sites page for complete info about Food Scrap Drop-Off Sites and hours.

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 List of Acceptable Food Scraps at Neighborhood-Based Food Scrap Drop-Off Sites

NYC residents are encouraged to bring any of the items noted below to a neighborhood-based Food Scrap Drop-Off site. (This list is applicable to all sites listed on our Neighborhood-Based Food Scrap Drop-Off Site pages.) 

By composting your food scraps, you can do your part to compost more and waste less while contributing to the creation of a useful resource (finished compost) that will help make NYC cleaner and greener.

Yes:

• fruit and vegetable scraps
• coffee grounds, filters, & paper tea bags
• bread and grains
• egg shells
• nutshells
• corncobs
• food-soiled paper towels and napkins
• shredded newspaper
• sawdust and wood shavings (from untreated wood)
• stale beans, flour, and spices
• cut or dried flowers
• houseplants and potting soil
• feathers

No:

• meat or fish scraps
• cheese or dairy products
• fats, grease, or oil AND oily foods
• cat or dog feces; kitty litter
• colored or glossy paper
• sawdust made from pressure-treated plywood or lumber
• coal or charcoal ashes
• non-compostable materials such as plastics, metals, or glass
• diseased and/or insect-infested houseplants/soil
• biodegradable/compostable plastics

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School Food Waste Composting Pilot 

The NYC Department of Sanitation (DSNY) and the Department of Education are piloting a food waste collection program in 40 Manhattan and Brooklyn public schools and about 20 non-profit institutions. The program is modeled after food collection efforts implemented by the all-volunteer District 3 Green Schools Group  under which all types of food waste were collected for off-site composting. The food collection efforts attracted the attention of DSNY's Commissioner Doherty, who is expanding the program from eight schools to about 60 schools and institutions in Fall 2012.

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