BED-STUY COMMUNITY

COMPOSTING SYLLABUS

With citywide community composting programs constantly under threat, Bed-Stuy residents deserve to feel empowered to make informed, earth-conscious choices about our food waste practices and carbon footprints. This Syllabus provides our community with information and resources on practices of sustainability through composting, as well as ways to join the struggle to save/support community composting.

For printable resources to share with your neighbors, click here (coming soon).

WHY COMPOST / COMPOST 101 (LET’S FIGHT CLIMATE CHANGE TOGETHER!)

“In the U.S., food is the most common material sent to landfills, comprising 24.1% of municipal solid waste. When yard trimmings, wood and paper/paperboard are added to food, these organic materials comprise 51.4% of municipal solid waste in landfills.” - US EPA

“When food and other organic materials decompose in a landfill where anaerobic (without oxygen) conditions are present, bacteria break down the materials and generate methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. Municipal solid waste landfills are the third largest source of human-related methane emissions in the U.S.” - US EPA

HOW TO COMPOST (IT’S VERY SIMPLE!)

What to compost

Food Scrap Drop-Off Sites: Most food scraps, including fruits and vegetables, eggshells, coffee grounds and tea bags, bread, rice, and pasta. Plant waste, including leaf and yard waste and houseplants. No meat, bones, or dairy.

Smart Composting Bins: ALL food scraps, plant waste, and food-soiled paper. This includes meat, bones, dairy, prepared foods, and greasy uncoated paper plates and pizza boxes. - DSNY

  1. Determine the best storage space and vessel to collect your food scraps. (I recommend storing in the freezer if you don’t want the rot stink or pest attraction!)

    • Best Compost Containers/Vessels (The Strategist)

  2. Begin collecting food scraps. (I keep meat, bone, dairy, greasy things separate and drop those off separately in the orange Smart Composting Bins/DSNY curbside collections bin.)

  3. Drop off accepted food scraps at your local community composting site (see below).

  4. The food scraps turn into nutrient-rich soil a.k.a compost and gets used locally.

OR IF YOU WANT TO DO IT YOURSELF AT HOME…

How to compost at home (NPR)
Composting at Home (EPA)

WHERE TO COMPOST (IN BED-STUY & SURROUNDING)
[please check hours with the location, as these are subject to change]

BEDSTUY

462 Halsey Community Farm (Compost Hours: Saturdays 10:30am-12:30pm)
Clifton Pl Memorial Garden and Park (closed for the winter)
Hattie Carthan Community Garden Markets (closed for the winter)
Myrtle Village Green (Compost Hours: Tuesday 10am - 12pm)
Phoenix Community Garden (Compost Hours: Saturdays 11am-3pm)
Umoja Garden (Compost Hours: Sundays @ 10am-12pm)

CROWN HEIGHTS

Walt L Shamel Community Garden (Compost Hours: Sundays 12-2pm)
Imani Community Garden (Compost Hours: Wed @ 8-10am, Sat @ 11am-1pm; join their compost mailing list)
1100 Bergen Street Community Garden (Compost Hours: Sundays @ 10am-4pm)

BUSHWICK

Know Waste Lands (BK Rot) (Compost Hours: Sundays @ 12-3pm)
Aberdeen Community Garden (Compost Hours: Sundays @ 2-5pm Apr-Nov, 1-4pm Dec-Mar)
Good Life Garden (Compost Hours: Saturdays 11am-1pm)
Bushwick City Farm (Hours: Sundays, Wednesdays, Saturdays 12-3pm-ish)
EL Garden (Compost Hours: garden hours)
Moffat St Community Garden (Compost Hours: Saturdays 10:30am-12pm)

MORE LOCATIONS ACROSS NYC

BK Rot Residential Pick Up
Big Reuse Food Scrap Drop-Off Map
DSNY Food Scrap Drop-Off Map
Save Our Compost Food Scrap Drop-Off Spreadsheet & Map (pending updates from @saveourcompost)
Find a GreenThumb Community Garden near you

To submit your community garden or food scrap drop-off site, please fill out this form.

ABOUT BROWN & ORANGE BINS (COMPOST FALLACY!)
AND THREATS AGAINST COMMUNITY COMPOSTING

Following the Smart Bin Compost Truck to Its Last Stop (Curbed)
Parks Department Throws Out Long Island City Compost Center (The City)
Funding restored but problems remain for some community composting groups (Epicenter NYC)

ADDITIONAL READINGS & RESOURCES

The Rodale Book of Composting, edited by Grace Gershuny and Deborah L. Martin
Easy Compost, Brooklyn Botanic Garden
NYC Compost Project Free Tip Sheets, Earth Matter
Master Composter Manual, NYC Compost Project

NYC Community Compost Network
@saveourcompost
@hakicompost
@bigreuse / Big Reuse website
@nurturebk_compost
@lesecologyctr / LES Ecology Center website
@bennettcompost


This project is supported by The Laundromat Project through the Bed-Stuy Create & Connect Fund.