Opinion: Why NYC Needs Community Composting to Make Curbside Collections Work

When people see the composting process up close when they hold the finished product in their hands they re far more likely to separate their food scraps at home A May rally outside City Hall against funding cuts to society composting programs Gerardo Romo NYC Council Media Unit As the City Council debates the budget there s real concern that society composting could be eliminated again It happened in It could happen this year too That would be a huge mistake That s because while New York City has at last made composting easy the question remains will people do it The city s new curbside composting venture which was rolled out last fall but became mandatory for the greater part residents beginning April means New Yorkers can put food scraps and other food waste in a brown bin and set it out like they do their recycling But infrastructure alone won t make it a success Right now participation is low Only percent of compostable materials are being diverted That means tons of food scraps were trashed in just the last quarter of wasted guidance that could have enriched soil and cut emissions The dilemma isn t access It s behavior And behavior doesn t change through mandates alone New York has a chance to lead the way not just by building the infrastructure but by building the beliefs That s where group composting comes in These local programs don t just process food scraps and create compost for city trees parks and gardens They close the gap between protocol and participation When people see the composting process up close when they hold the finished product in their hands they re far more likely to separate their food scraps at home This behavioral shift is critical a survey this year by the CUNY School of Constituents Medical discovered that percent of participants in population composting programs shared increased awareness of food waste and percent explained they had reduced their household waste Group composting doesn t compete with curbside composting it fuels it And the conditions requirements both types of composting now more than ever Food scraps in a landfill don t just disappear they rot release methane and add to the setting mess Curbside compost largely turns food waste into biofuel Population composting turns waste into rich healthy soil that holds water strengthens plants and authentically gives something back to the planet Combined these composting efforts can cut greenhouse gas emissions in half That s the difference between keeping carbon in the soil or pumping methane into the air If we re looking for an easy context win this is it Unfortunately society composting has been treated as expendable despite its proven impact In the Adams administration eliminated all funding forcing small-scale composters to scrape by on private donations It took sustained advocacy rallies hearings general pressure for the City Council to restore million in the last fiscal year budget But even with this mastery the funding shift underscores a troubling reality locality composting remains vulnerable Unlike curbside composting which has dedicated city tools community-based programs constantly have to fight for their existence Yet these programs do what strategy alone cannot they educate engage and create the cultural shift necessary to make composting a habit They also give residents an option While the curbside effort generates biofuel public composting offers a truly circular system one that regenerates soil and strengthens local ecosystems If New York is serious about reducing waste and cutting emissions it must do more than save district composting from the budget axe It must treat it as an essential part of our composting infrastructure not an afterthought Christine Datz-Romero is the co-founder and executive director of the Lower East Side Ecology Center The post Opinion Why NYC Requirements Society Composting to Make Curbside Collections Work appeared first on City Limits