Composting coming to a curb near you

Composting bins are joining garbage and recycling containers on Riverdale’s sidewalks. 

This May, the Department of Sanitation (DSNY) will distribute brown, plastic composting receptacles to 2,700 homeowners throughout central Riverdale, part of a pilot program to collect organic scraps, or “organics,” that began in 2013.

“Community Board 8 (CB) 8 as a whole has higher than average recycling rates, so it makes sense for this pilot program to be placed here,” said Robert Fanuzzi, chairman of CB 8’s Environment and Sanitation Committee.

DSNY has already rolled out bins in the Throggs Neck, Country Club, Silver Beach and Edgewater Park sections of the Bronx, along with areas in the other four boroughs. Rollouts in 2015 will bring composting bins to 35,000 new households, adding to the 100,000 homes that are currently part of the program.

The DSNY’s goal is to decrease the amount of garbage the city collects each year, directing organic scraps that would normally be thrown out with the trash into composting and organic recycling.

Nearly a third of New York City’s waste currently consists of organic materials that could be composted, according to the department. By implementing composting programs, the department hopes to decrease its trash costs, with dividends to the environment.

Each year, the department spends millions of dollars transporting trash to landfills out of state.

The city currently diverts 15 percent of its garbage into composting and recycling; by 2025, it hopes that number will increase to 30 percent.

Although the amount of trash the northwest Bronx diverts to composting is higher than the city average, at 16 percent, Mr. Fanuzzi hopes the program will boost that figure.

“Our committee has really worked hard trying to be a liaison and lever between the DSNY’s organic recycling program and our local compost efforts,” he said.

Houses and buildings with less than 10 units will automatically receive organics collection bins. Co-op apartments with more than 10 units, Mr. Fanuzzi said, can enroll on the DSNY’s website before a Friday, April 17 deadline if they have not done so already.