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The brand new Queens compost program has collected greater than 12.7 million pounds of natural waste in simply three months, proving that New Yorkers are desirous to take part within the environmentally pleasant effort, in line with Sanitation Commissioner Jessica Tisch.
The participation charge within the boroughwide program eclipses the two.1 million pounds of natural waste produced by seven districts within the Bronx, Brooklyn and Manhattan over the identical interval that even have compost assortment service.
The program launched in October.
“For 20 years, the city has been trying to develop a successful and a sustainable model for organics collection. And Mayor [Eric] Adams promised that to New Yorkers, and I think it shows that he’s delivering on it,” Tisch informed Gothamist on Thursday.
The Queens program is on pause following the autumn yard waste season. Assortment will resume on March 27.
Tisch attributed the packages’ success to the truth that residents are robotically enrolled and don’t want particular bins.
“We relaxed or got rid of a lot of onerous requirements of the opt-in program, where first the residents had to express interest and then they had to raise their hands again to opt into the service,” Tisch stated.
Town types out massive woody particles from the collected natural waste, which is shipped to a compost facility in New Jersey. The remaining natural waste is slurried and despatched to the town’s wastewater therapy plant at Newtown Creek in Greenpoint – the place a long-promised mission with Nationwide Grid to show natural waste into biogas is ready to launch – or the Pine Island Farm in Massachusetts.
The Queens program additionally value the sanitation division a fraction of what curbside compost pickup prices for the remainder of the town. Town spent $467,000 there, in comparison with greater than $1.6 million to choose up natural waste from the opposite seven districts. Tisch stated the financial savings got here from good choices on personnel and fleet deployment. The division was in a position to concurrently gather each compost and common family waste on nearly all of its routes in Queens, which helped lower your expenses.
When requested when compost curbside service could be expanded, Tisch stated the sanitation division is analyzing knowledge from the Queens program.
“We’re going to review it and make our plans for expansion of the program accordingly,” she stated.
Councilmember Sandy Nurse, the chair of the Metropolis Council’s sanitation committee, stated the success of the Queens program was promising. She stated it was time for a “universal mandatory curbside organics program.”
“The only way to achieve high participation levels, which will also reduce rats, is through mandating a consistent, reliable program with substantial investments in ongoing education and awareness campaigns,” Nurse stated in an announcement.