Keep Our City — and our Parks — Green with Food Scraps

By NYC Sanitation Staff

You want to do the right thing and compost your food scraps, but you see your neighborhood is not on the list for the resumption of curbside compost collections. We know this is frustrating, and we look forward to the day when budget realities allow us to make curbside compost collections available to all New Yorkers. In the meantime, the NYC Department of Sanitation has partnered with community groups across the city to expand food-scrap drop-off sites to nearly every community across the five boroughs.

Food scraps, food-soiled paper and yard waste make up a third of the trash New Yorkers throw away. When this material is sent to landfills — sometimes as far away as South Carolina — it takes up valuable space, decomposes and emits methane, a greenhouse gas whose impact is 25 times greater than carbon dioxide over a 100-year period. But when you bring these materials to one of our 200 food-scrap drop-off sites, the material is turned into compost right here in New York City — and that compost then nourishes the soil in our own parks and community gardens.

Composting makes our city more sustainable, and the map below shows all the locations where you can drop off your food scraps.

Once you find a site, we encourage you to do the following before visiting:

• confirm that they are open and accepting food scraps

• review open hours listed on the map

• check flyer on the map to see what items are accepted

The following items are generally accepted at food scrap drop-off sites:

• fruits, vegetables and eggshells

• coffee, tea and nuts

• dried flowers and houseplants

• bread, grains and pasta

The following items are generally not accepted at food scrap drop-off sites:

• meat, fish and dairy

• pet waste and kitty litter

• pressure-treated plywood, lumber or sawdust

• clean paper, glossy paper or cardboard

• metal, glass or plastic

• medical waste, diapers, and personal hygiene products

• BPI-certified compostable plastic products

We continue to expand our drop-off sites — and we are always looking to partner with New Yorkers who are able to help. If you are interested in hosting a new drop-off site, if you have outdoor space to start composting or if you are already hosting a drop-off not shown on the map, please fill out this online form so that we can get in touch. We hope to continue supporting your efforts to make NYC more sustainable.

Finally, if you want to start composting in your yard or inside your home, you can make your own compost. Check out this page for PDF guides and tip sheets for at-home indoor and outdoor composting.

And thank you for your interest and efforts to curb landfill waste and greenhouse gases — and make New York City more green and sustainable!