nyc compost project: turning leaf & yard waste into compost

collection of leaves & yard waste
dsny composting sites
returning finished compost to nyc residents

DSNY COLLECTION OF LEAVES & YARD WASTE

Though New York is one of the world’s densest and most populated areas, nearly two thirds of the city consists of low-rise housing with tree-lined streets, front gardens, and backyards—all of which produce leaves and yard waste. DSNY has collected and composted these materials since 1990, when it constructed its first large scale outdoor composting facility at the Fresh Kills landfill on Staten Island. Initially, DSNY collected leaves only from Staten Island. The program rapidly expanded to include all of Queens, and the districts in the Bronx and Brooklyn that have more trees—and more leaves.

Today, DSNY composts an average 20,000 tons of leaves every year, collected from 37 of New York City’s 59 Community Districts. Leaves are collected each autumn during a four-week period beginning in mid November, based on historical data on when the bulk of leaves fall. See more information on the Fall Leaf Program on NYCWasteLe$$.

Check the nyc composting calendar in the fall for the leaf collection schedule.

Because of the Asian Longhorned Beetle infestation, residents in Queens and Brooklyn must arrange for a special pick up with the Department of Parks & Recreation when discarding tree prunings, firewood, and any other organic woody debris.

Starting in fall 2007, residents are no longer allowed to place leaves at the curb in plastic bags during leaf collection periods. Regulations require that leaves are set out in either unlined rigid containers or large paper lawn & leaf bags specifically designed for this purpose. The paper bags are composted along with the leaves. Eliminating the use of plastic will result in more efficient leaf processing, reducing the cost to taxpayers and producing a cleaner compost that is free of plastic shreds.

In 2006, the City of New York adopted a new Solid Waste Management Plan (SWMP) to guide its waste disposal program for the next twenty years. The plan calls for a spring yard waste collection pilot program to test the feasibility and assess the cost of implementing this program throughout the city. If the pilot proves successful, spring yard waste collection may be implemented as a permanent program, provided sufficient funding is available. See the SWMP on the DSNY website.

DSNY also has an annual Christmas tree recycling program—see information.

DSNY COMPOSTING SITES

Currently, all leaves collected by DSNY during its Fall Leaf Collection Program are taken to one of two DSNY yard waste composting sites, both operated by a private contractor:

Fresh Kills, a 20-acre site constructed in 1998 at the entrance to the former landfill in Staten Island
Soundview, a 10-acre site constructed in 1999 in an inactive section of Soundview Park in the Bronx

At both sites, incoming leaves are placed into large rotating screens which break through the bags and separate nearly all of the resulting plastic shreds from the leaves. (It is hoped that this step will ultimately be eliminated once plastic bags are effectively banned for leaf collection.) The leaves are then placed in long piles known as “windrows” which are turned periodically with large front-end loaders. The rate of turning is adjusted as the leaves begin to degrade; within six to nine months they break down completely into rich, crumbly humus. As a final step, the compost is run through a finer screen to remove any remaining plastic bits and other inert materials.

Spring Creek: A third compost site was constructed by DSNY at Spring Creek Park, on the Brooklyn-Queens border. This 20-acre facility has not yet received an operating permit from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) and cannot be used for composting at this time. The Spring Creek and Soundview sites were both constructed under an innovative program developed jointly by DSNY and the Parks Department. Under a Memorandum of Understanding signed by the DSNY and Parks Commissioners in 1996, Parks agreed to designate undeveloped, marginal areas within its properties as composting sites for use by DSNY. In return, DSNY agreed to provide compost to Parks landscaping and environmental remediation programs. To date, thousands of tons of compost made from the City’s autumn leaves have been utilized to beautify public parks in all five boroughs.

RETURNING FINISHED COMPOST TO NYC RESIDENTS

Creating decentralized compost sites in the outer boroughs for leaf and yard waste has resulted in transportation efficiencies for DSNY collection. This also gives all New Yorkers easier access to the resulting high-quality compost, which is distributed to residents free of charge from the Fresh Kills, Soundview, and Spring Creek sites during “Compost Giveback Events” held every spring and fall. Check the nyc composting calendar in the spring and fall for information on these events.

NYC Compost Project staff are on hand during these extremely popular weekend events to provide information and handouts, and to assist with the sale of discounted home composting bins.

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