Organic Recycling Compost Program Coming To Roosevelt Island Farmers Market Starting Saturday November 28 Reports RI Garden Club - Hosted By Big Reuse, Volunteers Welcome

 Image From Big Reuse

Roosevelt Island residents have been asking for a local composting location for a long time. As one resident asked in 2008:

... i wonder if anyone else thinks about collecting kitchen scraps to compost? I have tried this but it means schlepping garbage on the subway or tram to the greenmarket in Union Square, where there is a collection stand several days a week. The people who collect there give the scraps to people who process, then use the resulting compost to fertilize farm soil

Benefits are less garbage in landfills and constructive use of our waste - and a chance to step out of our collective throw-away mentality without much effort. It isn't hard to save kitchen scraps (only those without fats - like potato peels, coffee grounds, eggshells...) what is hard is getting them to someone who can make use of them. I know there are industries who collect scraps - I wonder if there would be enough interest to get them to come here and pick up our collective contribution of kitchen scraps?...

Wonder no longer. Composting is coming to Roosevelt Island just in time to collect after Thanksgiving food scraps.

The Roosevelt Island Garden Club (RIGC) Secretary Julia Ferguson reports:

Working with several Roosevelt Island groups, RIGC has succeeded in establishing a date for the NYC Compost organics recycling initiative that is coming to Roosevelt Island! We are excited about this public/non-profit collaboration to reduce waste and encourage more sustainable urban living.

On Saturday, November 28th NYC Compost Project hosted by Big Reuse will be starting an Organics Recycling program at the Saturday Farmer's Market under the helix, with the mission of "Rebuilding Our Soil, Neighborhood By Neighborhood".

Instead of sending organics to landfills via AVAC, Island residents will be able to drop off kitchen scraps at an organics collection station at the Saturday Farmer's Market. The scraps will go to a local composting site under the Queensborough Bridge on Vernon Blvd. The compost created will also be used locally for street trees, parks, and urban gardens.

Island leadership, avid RI composters, the PTA of PS 217, the RI Girl Scout troops and the RI Garden Club are all excited to help welcome this program to Roosevelt Island. If you would like to help out as a volunteer, please contact Big Reuse or email rigardenclub@gmail.com.

Long Island City based Big Reuse adds:

The NYC Compost Project Hosted by Big Reuse is part of a community-scale composting network that works rebuild our soils by providing New Yorkers with the knowledge, skills, and opportunties they need to produce and use compost locally. We host weekly food scrap drop-off locations, train New Yorkers in urban composting best practices, and produce high-quality compost to amend our city’s soils. The finished compost is used in community gardens, on street trees, and in public beautification projects.

More information on the Roosevelt Island Garden Club and Big Reuse available at their web sites.

Also, Bronx Net interviews representatives of the NYC Compost Project



and Mayor de Blasio's family show how to



compost your food scraps