Thursday, December 3, 2015

Herban Decay!: About that New York Compost Box on East 11th Street



You've likely noticed the New York Compost Box that arrived earlier last month on 11th Street just east of First Avenue.

There is a story about this, if you haven't heard about it. The repurposed newspaper box comes courtesy of Debbie Ullman, an urban gardener who worked in the graphics department at the Daily News for nearly a decade.

The onetime East Village resident (who now lives uptown) came up with the idea for the project as a repository for New Yorkers to get rid of their food scraps whenever it's convenient for them.

Here's more about it via the New York Compost website:

The New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY) reports that a third of what New Yorkers throw away is food scraps. When this material is sent to a landfill, it adds to the city’s disposal costs and ultimately contributes to the rise in greenhouse gas emissions. When composted, food scraps and other organic waste become a nutrient-rich additive that improves soil quality for street trees and gardens. This reduces the need for fertilizers and pesticides, helps prevent erosion and suppresses certain plant diseases.

The New York Compost Box Project complements the DSNY’s Organics Collection program by offering an innovative way to divert food waste from landfills and raise awareness about urban composting.

There are three boxes in use: on Governors Island, at the Urban Garden Center on Park Avenue and 116th Street in East Harlem, and on 11th Street outside the East Side High School Community Garden. (Someone donated a newspaper box to her. She bought the other two from a prop company.)

The box on 11th Street is being maintained by Laura Rosenshine, who runs Reclaimed Organics. There is a lock on the box (otherwise, the contents will likely end up on someone's windshield). You can contact her via this website to obtain the combination. There is a bucket inside the box in which people then drop their scraps. The boxes contain sealed bins, which are emptied daily. (Find more FAQs here, including what is allowed in the box.)

Ullman shared a few thoughts on the project with us...

I think the DSNY is doing an incredible job with their Organics pilot. My boxes aren't meant to replace that. I don't think that the newspaper boxes are the solution. They are a fun and memorable way for people to stop and think about composting. The fun takes the "ick factor" out a bit for people. And scraps can be dropped off anytime it's convenient.

They are a response to the social community and public space, meant to stimulate community involvement and interaction. I wanted to create an unexpected experience and just to remind people to think about disposing of their organics properly. The surprise element is a way to reach people who might not have been interested otherwise.

And...

I'm feeling great about the project. The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. A lot of it is just getting it seen and spreading the word. If it gets even a few non-composters participating, then it will have been a success.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

I welcome a citywide mandatory composting program with open arms, key is how to enforce it.

Orange skins, banana peels etc. should be used to nuture the Earth, not rot in Staten Island landfills.

Anonymous said...

My family composted in the suburbs 20 years ago. It was messy and stupid then, and it makes even less sense in a city. At least for the average person. Restaurants may have limited success with it because they have the space and volume of food, but how much will the city charge them for bins, letter grades, etc.?

Anonymous said...

Why poo poo this woman who is trying to help? I think composting is a pain, but since I live across the street from this box, I will try to participate with my banana skins, egg shells and coffee grounds and/or veggie and fruit scraps. Why not help if you can?

Anonymous said...

I started 'composting' about a year ago and it really could't be easier. Add one more trash bin to your kitchen, put food scraps in one, and regular garbage in the other. You will be amazed at how much lighter your regular trash becomes, since it's going to be mostly plastic that isn't for recycling. The habit of separating becomes pretty much second nature- the good folks that take the compost are doing all the messy stuff.

nygrump said...

It really wouldn't be that hard for me to keep my scraps in the freezer until they accumulate - and to make it a habit - its a little awkward for me to recycle paper and metal in my tiny apt but I do it - these efforts outside the State are admirable. The current City effort to put recycling bins on the streets is just not going to work.

Anonymous said...

I'm all for composting but I think this parody is just too on the nose, in the sense that I would never see one of these boxes and think they were for anything but tabloids.

amyaversion said...

I think this is fantastic. I live in a Brooklyn neighborhood that isn't part of the DSNY pick up program (though many of my friends/clients do and it does work well). This is actually more convenient than any of the drop off locations where you're bound by day/time restrictions. I can make this part of my weekly trip to B&H. Drop off scraps, reward my effort with pierogi. Win-win.

Anonymous said...

Anon 10:37: Things must be very confusing where you are.

Scuba Diva said...

I've been composting for well over 20 years, thanks to my downstairs neighbor who gave me a bucket. The Lower East Side Ecology Center has been operating longer than even the sanitation department composting program, and continues to grow.

We certainly should be composting everything we can; as far as I know, we're still trucking our garbage out to the Midwest, so the less of it there is, the better.

Anonymous said...

7:19, lol yes I am quite befuddled