Starting October 6, curbside composting will be available in the Bronx, Manhattan and Staten Island after the city previously launched the program in Queens and Brooklyn.
As part of the program, city residents will put their food waste, yard waste and food-soiled paper out in a brown DSNY bin, or any container 55 gallons or less with a secure lid, on their recycling day. The sanitation department will then pick up their compost and put it to beneficial reuse rather than sending the waste to landfills.
According to the NYC Department of Sanitation, the city will pick up waste that includes meat, bones, dairy, prepared foods, greasy uncoated paper plates and pizza boxes.
Under city law, all New Yorkers are already required to separate recyclable materials from the trash. With the city's composting program expansion, they will also now have to separate compostable materials.
Residents who do not follow the guidelines for waste disposal will be subject to fines, depending on what type of building/home you live in.
The expansion comes after Mayor Eric Adams and the NYC Sanitation Department announced in February of 2023 that they aimed to bring composting to all five boroughs within the next 20 months.
You can learn more about the composting program on the NYC Department of Sanitation's website.
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Mayor Eric Adams unveils first official NYC Bin for trash pickup
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