PHOTO: The city Sanitation Department is offering residents and business owners the opportunity to join its organic recycling program. Photo Courtesy of DSNY
The city Department of Sanitation this fall will add five southern borough communities to the NYC Organics Collection pilot program.
Bridget Anderson, DSNY deputy commissioner for Recycling and Sustainability, announced at the Community Board 10 meeting last Thursday night that the plan is scheduled to be rolled out to Ozone Park, Lindenwood, South Ozone Park, Howard Beach, and Hamilton Beach over the next couple of months: Collection will begin in Ozone Park and Lindenwood the week of Oct. 5; South Ozone Park, Oct. 12; and Sanitation crews will start collecting recycled organics in Howard Beach and Hamilton Beach the week of Nov. 2.
“It’s a pilot, volunteer program,” Anderson said. “We hope you will participate.”
DSNY is sending eligible households in the expansion areas a starter kit, she said, which includes an indoor kitchen container, an instruction brochure, and either their own outdoor brown bin or a larger one to share for the building if there are between three and nine units in the building.
Recycled organics are collected on regular trash days, Anderson noted.
Separate organic waste from your trash and other recyclables. Collect food scraps and food-soiled paper in a kitchen food-scraps container, or in any container or bag. Store the container or bag in a convenient place, such as on the countertop, under the sink, or in the freezer, until your pickup day.
Empty organic waste into your brown bin, and set it at the curb for collection.
“We fully admit that there’s a learning curve,” Anderson acknowledged.
By Michael V. Cusenza michael@theforumnewsgroup.com
