Waste, not: the organic waste program being piloted in Queens will automatically provide the service to its 2.2 million residents

T he problem of food waste in New York went viral some years ago, when a rodent was captured on video dragging a slice of what may have been margherita pizza down the steps of a subway station. That was how the world became acquainted with Pizza Rat. Since then, its ranks have been joined by Avocado Rat and Pretzel Rat.

But now, in at least one large part of the city, food rats may become fewer and farther between. America’s largest city is launching an equally large organic waste composting program, which will turn food and plant waste from 2.2 million residents into soil for city parks and community gardens, and an energy source called biogas.

The project in Queens is the first time an entire borough will automatically receive the service, no signup required. Sanitation Commissioner Jessica Tisch calls the potential content of these bins the city’s “largest untapped opportunity for [diverting waste]” from the landfill.

According to Tisch, of the 24m pounds of trash and recycling collected from New York City residences each day, organic waste accounts for one third. And she estimates that less than 1% of that organic waste escapes the landfill.

Earlier this week, department of sanitation (DSNY) trucks started rolling through Queens to empty hundreds of thousands of new brown bins of their (sometimes smelly) contents.

Barbara Alafogianis, a longtime Astoria resident and landlord of a two-family building there, thinks the program is “long overdue”. She began composting a few years ago, when she first noticed drop-off bins in her neighborhood. “I just think it’s wonderful to be able to get rid of that in a way that doesn’t add to our landfill,” she says.

Currently, optional curbside composting is available only in a handful of community boards in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and the Bronx – and the addition of new neighborhoods has been paused “until further notice”, according to the city’s webpage on the service.

“We are working with the city’s new administration to evaluate the program and determine the best service model to help New Yorkers divert food waste from landfills,” a page on the city’s website reads.

New York Mayor Eric Adams, who was elected last year, initially campaigned on citywide composting but then halted its expansion, saying not enough people participated to justify the expense.

But conditions seemed to be just right in Queens. For one thing, residents in parts of western Queens like Astoria pushed hard for an organic waste program.

During the pandemic, Lou Reyes, a resident of Astoria, created an Instagram account with his partner, Caren Tedesco, after the city cut its food scrap pick-up program. Their account, under the handle @astoriapug for the couple’s senior dog who has become the effort’s mascot, posts information about food scrap collections and partners with local farms to drop it off.

Reyes says this is the first time he’s seen a robust plan from the city to divert food scraps from landfills. Past curbside composting programs were much more difficult to opt-in and required approval from landlords.

“You don’t have to fill out forms. You don’t have to apply,” he adds. “So that in itself is easier. And when it’s easier, it’s a lot more attractive for people.”

Meanwhile, eastern Queens’s many trees and yards made it an ideal place to start collecting leaves, grass and twigs, says Tisch. And this new program cuts costs by optimizing routes, adjusting the workforce to reduce overtime pay and using more trucks with two separate bins – one for trash and one for organics – so that they can collect both on a single shift.

The city has tried to raise awareness of the program in various ways. The city says it sent a mailer to every Queens resident, sent uniformed sanitation workers to knock on the doors of all buildings with one to nine units, and “purchased extensive advertising in community and ethnic media” while debuting the program’s mascot, Scrappy, on social media. This fall, the city is also adding 250 new composting bins on streets throughout the five boroughs that can be opened via a smartphone app or key card and are available 24/7.

Curbside composting in Queens will take a pause from late December to March, when there’s little to no yard waste. The hope is that by next winter, people will have developed the “muscle memory” of separating food waste and there will be enough of it to drive the program on its own.

Reyes hopes New York City will ultimately adopt a mandatory universal curbside program, like the one already in place for recycling. City council member Shahana Hanif, who sponsored a bill this year that would do just that, says the city lacks the sanitation infrastructure and workforce to process organic waste in all five boroughs, but she’s hopeful legislation can change that.

“Curbside composting is one of the simplest ways New Yorkers can reduce their carbon footprint,” she says. “The ability to bring your food scraps from your kitchen to your brown bin can help neighborhoods significantly reduce their waste and environmental impact.”