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Because
of New York City's population density and demographics, our waste stream
has a much lower percentage of leaves and yard trimmings (4%) and a higher
percentage of food scraps (15%) than most U.S. municipalities. Therefore,
understanding how to compost food scraps can
have a larger impact on waste reduction here.
Food scraps present special challenges because they have the potential to produce odors and attract pests if they're not handled properly. However, compost produced with food scraps contains more nutrients than compost produced from yard trimmings alone. See a list of the types of food scraps appropriate for home composting and those that should be avoided.
A convenient way to store kitchen scraps before composting or bringing them to a drop-off site is to keep them in the freezer in a large zip-lock bag.
To protect public health, the City of New York strongly recommends that all food scraps be composted using enclosed, rodent-resistant systems. Following these steps, you can safely compost food scraps in the City:
• Use
an enclosed, rodent-resistant compost
bin.
• Add dry, carbon-rich materials, such as fall leaves or shredded
newspaper ("browns"), each time you add food
scraps.
• Bury food scraps underneath this layer of "browns."
Here are other methods for recycling your food scraps:
soil
incorporation & in-soil digesters
trench composting
food scrap drop-off sites
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SOIL INCORPORATION & IN-SOIL DIGESTERS Ask gardeners if they compost, and they might respond, "No, but I bury my food scraps in the garden." Burying organic material is one of the oldest methods of composting. There are many variations of this method. The most basic is to simply dig a hole and drop in food scraps. Food scraps should be covered with at least 8 inches of soil to prevent animals from detecting their presence and digging the scraps up. Depending on your soil conditions and the material buried, it can take from two weeks to one year for the material to decompose. The decomposition time will be shorter if the material buried is chopped into small pieces and if the soil has a healthy population of microorganisms. An in-soil digester allows you to bury your organic material without having to dig a new hole each time you're ready to bury a new load. A digester is like a modified trash can. Holes are drilled into the bottom of the can. A two- to three-foot hole is dug and the can is placed into the hole with about a third to a half of the can above the ground. Food scraps are thrown into the can, which is covered with a tight-fitting or locking lid to keep out pests. The digester can hold several months worth of food scraps, depending on the amount of scraps generated. The digester should be placed in an area that is well drained. This method of composting is anaerobic, and when the lid is opened it can produce odors. To avoid a problem with flies, food scraps should be covered with a layer of sawdust or soil. The material should take about a year to compost. See more information about the soil digester sold by Green Cone. 
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Trench composting is a more methodical variation of burying organic material. Garden rows or squares are rotated on a three-year plan. During the first year, plot A is used to bury organic material, plot C is planted, and plot B is left fallow. The second year, plot A is planted, plot B is used to bury compost, and plot C is left fallow. In the third year, plot A is left fallow, plot B is planted, and plot C is used to bury compost.
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Some local community gardens and green markets may accept your food scraps for composting. Here are locations and times: Manhattan The Lower
East Side Ecology Center Garden on 7th Street between
Avenues B and C The Union Square Greenmarket (E 17th St and Broadway) Brooklyn Fort Greene Park Greenmarket on the corner of Washington Park
and Dekalb Avenue Garden of Union on Union Street between 4th and 5th Avenues in
Brooklyn Hollenback Community Garden on
Washington Avenue (Between Gates and Greene Avenues) "6/15
Green" Community Garden at 6th Avenue and 15th
Street in Brooklyn
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For more
information, see:
• troubleshooting outdoor composting
• backyard composting
• indoor composting with a worm bin
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