Kitchen Compost by Ginny Maki
@ginnyeileen
Dear Friends of New Amsterdam Market:
In the aftermath of coronavirus, the New York City Council, along with local and State governments across the country, is facing an unprecedented economic challenge. Revenues are simply not there to support all public programs.
But now is also an opportunity to consider the deeper nature of our activities and aspirations, and to preserve those efforts whose impacts, already manifold, will grow exponentially when provided with resources.
Community composting is among those activities, and one I can speak to. I directed the New York City composting program in the 1990’s, when it was being conceived and implemented, and have seen it flourish since that time. I urge the City Council to preserve and increase funding for this vital city service, which is overseen by the Department of Sanitation.
Community composting is carried out by eight non-profit organizations across New York, including the city’s four botanical gardens. Together, they collect five million pounds per year of residential food scraps and garden trimmings, at a network of sites around the city including Greenmarkets, neighborhood gardens, parks, and even subway stations. Last year these groups produced and distributed one million pounds of compost, engaging close to 8,000 volunteers and employing one hundred full and part time staff. More than 100,000 New Yorkers annually participate in the program in some way, and every one of us benefits from the greening of the city that results.
- Community composting puts a municipal service directly in the hands of city residents, opening the door to the innovation and entrepreneurship that will create the infrastructure of the future.
- Community composting brings people together. New Yorkers of every background and income level participate in compost dropoff sites and have joined the program as volunteers and staff. Few programs are so authentically diverse.
- Community composting provides multiple benefits for every dollar invested in the program, including waste management, public education, social services, environmental stewardship, resource conservation, environmental justice, enhanced food security, and more.
- Community composting provides New Yorkers with a connection to nature. It is the most tangible and impactful of all the recycling programs.
The program’s 8,000 volunteers and the groups who manage them have the knowledge and experience to expand their efforts across the city and provide these services to everyone who wants or needs them. This public education effort will also set the path for more ambitious programs, such as curbside compost collection, to succeed in the future.
You can learn more about the NYC Compost Project and community composting initiatives
at this website
,
where you can also sign a petition to the City Council.
To help, please write an email, tweet, tag, and place phone calls or to:
- New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson (@NYCSpeakerCoJo)
- Sanitation Committee Chair Antonio Reynoso (@ReynosoBrooklyn)
- Your own Council member; and other Council Members as well.
You can find contact information for all of the Council Members
here
. Their tags are also listed below.
The next Fiscal Year begins July 1, so time is of the essence, act now!
Sincerely,
Robert
