Curbside Composting FAQ

No, Curbside Composting is a separate collection service and will not affect trash or recycling collection. Compost will be collected on your recycling day. Non-recyclable large items should be set out on your trash-only collection day.

Yes! We recommend you line your bin with a clear plastic, paper, or compostable bag to help keep it clean. Please no black plastic bags. You can also use small plastic, paper or compostable bags inside the liner to drop in your daily food scraps.

Using a bin with a secure lid and a clear plastic bag as a liner produces no more odor than when it's in the trash. In fact, frequently placing your compost into a separate container can help reduce odors in your home!

By composting, you help keep your home and neighborhood clean and healthy. When you place your food scraps and food-soiled paper in your compost bin, you reduce the chance of bags breaking open on the curb, causing litter and attracting pests.

To help keep your bin clean:

• Keep the lid shut and tightly secured. Close the bin after every use.
• Use a clear plastic, paper, or compostable bag to line your bin.
• Drain liquids before placing material in the bin.
• Use paper or baking soda at the bottom of your bin to absorb excess moisture.
• Tie the bag closed before putting the bin on the curb for collection.

TIP: Put food scraps in your freezer before emptying them into your building's compost bin.

If you don't already have a compost bin or need additional bins, you can use any labeled bin, (maximum size of 55 gallons) with a secure lid. Order a free Composting Bin label for your bin at nyc.gov/CompostingBinDecal

You can also purchase one or more brown bins at bins.nyc.

ALL NYC residents are required to separate food scraps, food-soiled paper, or yard waste from trash. Owners and property managers of buildings with 4 or more units must also provide a designated storage area with clearly labeled compost bins.

If residential property owners, managers, supers, or tenants are not separating compostable material from trash, you can:

• Request a DSNY training, presentation, or site visit.
• Direct them to DSNY's training webinar for building staff.
• Volunteer to help manage the building's compost bin.
• Report a residential building mixing trash with compostable material.
• Find a compost drop-off location at nyc.gov/dropfoodscraps.

NYCHA residents should contact their building super.

You give us your yard waste and food scraps, we turn it into compost, and then give it back! We send your compostable material to one of several processing facilities in the region, depending on where the material was collected.

Compost collected in some areas is taken to the Staten Island Compost Facility to create a natural fertilizer. We also send material to be anaerobically digested at facilities like the Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant to create renewable energy. Anaerobic digestion is the process of converting food scraps and yard waste into renewable energy (biogas) and fertilizer.

When this organic material goes to landfill, the biogas is released directly into the air, accelerating climate change. Using it as a renewable fuel source is substantially better, as it offsets the use of fossil fuel-derived natural gas which contributes to climate change.

A reduction of organic waste sent to landfills to use as a resource is an environmental benefit to our city.

Any sites that currently receive DSNY collection for recycling and trash must separate their yard waste, food scraps, and food-soiled paper from the trash. These locations are welcome to compost their food scraps and yard waste on-site. This mandate requires that this material be separated from trash if set out for DSNY collection.

Waste generated by commercial landscapers cannot be left for DSNY collection. Landscapers must take yard waste to a permitted composting facility for proper disposal.

Any business that creates leaf and yard waste, such as a commercial landscaper, and businesses covered by the Commercial Organics Law are required to separate and dispose of organic waste separately from the trash. Learn more at nyc.gov/businessorganics.

NYC residents are eligible to receive free compost made from the food scraps and yard waste we collect from you.

Compost pickup is available from April to September at the Staten Island Compost Facility and our newer Giveback Sites in Greenpoint, Brooklyn and Astoria, Queens.

Pop-Up Community Giveback Events are held at locations throughout NYC. Find a Pop-Up Community Giveback Event near you.

Register to get free compost at a DSNY Compost Giveback Site or Pop-Up Community Event.