We now have to compost in NYC
By Lena Kovadlo
@lovebuglena (46264)
Staten Island, New York
October 9, 2024 1:28pm CST
In NYC, people can use their existing garbage bins with an attached lid but come 2026 people will have to buy an official Department of Sanitation bin. 
I don't see any benefit for me to get that bin. The one I have is perfectly fine. And yet I will have no choice but to get one. And it isn't cheap. I wonder if they will fine people for not having the official bin. If it gets stolen you can actually report it to the police. 
All garbage has to be put outside in a garbage bin. If some garbage doesn't fit into the bin (as it's full) you have to wait till next garbage pickup to take it out or get another bin to accommodate that.
And now to make things worse we have to compost. Prepared foods, fruits and veggies (including their seeds, pits, skins), soiled paper napkins, pizza boxes, and plates (what about paper towels?), dairy, meat, bones, pizza boxes, weeds, leaves, branches, or other such stuff has to be separated from regular trash and thrown into the brown compost bin in a clear plastic bag or a compost bag (whatever that is). Thankfully, they let us get the official brown compost bin for free. It is very small though. If you have a lot of landscaping waste it definitely will not fit into the bin.
If you fail to separate compost stuff from regular trash you will be fined. Fines increase with each offense. That means someone will actually be going around looking through our garbage. 
I wonder how much they will get paid to do this.
I don't get what they are trying to accomplish with all this. Rats will not be going anywhere. Neither will any other rodents or roaches. And instead of streets being littered with garbage they will be littered with garbage bins.
I don't see any benefit for me to get that bin. The one I have is perfectly fine. And yet I will have no choice but to get one. And it isn't cheap. I wonder if they will fine people for not having the official bin. If it gets stolen you can actually report it to the police.
All garbage has to be put outside in a garbage bin. If some garbage doesn't fit into the bin (as it's full) you have to wait till next garbage pickup to take it out or get another bin to accommodate that.
And now to make things worse we have to compost. Prepared foods, fruits and veggies (including their seeds, pits, skins), soiled paper napkins, pizza boxes, and plates (what about paper towels?), dairy, meat, bones, pizza boxes, weeds, leaves, branches, or other such stuff has to be separated from regular trash and thrown into the brown compost bin in a clear plastic bag or a compost bag (whatever that is). Thankfully, they let us get the official brown compost bin for free. It is very small though. If you have a lot of landscaping waste it definitely will not fit into the bin.
If you fail to separate compost stuff from regular trash you will be fined. Fines increase with each offense. That means someone will actually be going around looking through our garbage. I wonder how much they will get paid to do this.
I don't get what they are trying to accomplish with all this. Rats will not be going anywhere. Neither will any other rodents or roaches. And instead of streets being littered with garbage they will be littered with garbage bins.11 people like this
9 responses
@marguicha (226500)
• Chile
9 Oct
The ideas are good but the way of doing it is stupid. It happens here too. Most of these brilliant ideas lack common sense.
2 people like this
@lovebuglena (46264)
• Staten Island, New York
10 Oct
Requiring official bins is just a way for the city to make more money. It shouldn’t make a difference what bin it is so long as it has an attached lid.
And this separating food from trash is crazy. It’s not even 100% clear to me what stuff must go there and what should go in the trash. Plus, seems like compost can only be put outside on recycling day and that’s only once a week. That means stinky food in the kitchen for many days, especially if it’s very little of it.
1 person likes this
@marguicha (226500)
• Chile
10 Oct
@lovebuglena It is absurd to have food leftovers for a whole week, specially in warmer months.
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (46264)
• Staten Island, New York
10 Oct
@marguicha I feel like now I have to have two small garbage bins in the kitchen. One for compost and another for trash. I don’t want the compost bag to sit on my counter for days.
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (188588)
• United States
10 Oct
They are trying to decrease the amount of garbage. They must have a use for the compost. A large city's garbage only has so many places it can go. Good luck and have a great day.
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (46264)
• Staten Island, New York
10 Oct
Why can’t they sort through the garbage themselves and pick out stuff that is meant for compost? Why do we have to do it?
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (46264)
• Staten Island, New York
12 Oct
@LindaOHio I feel like now I need to get another bin for my kitchen. One for compost stuff and another for regular trash. I hate having to do that but I don’t want compost bag on my counter, especially if it smells.
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (188588)
• United States
11 Oct
@lovebuglena That would take a lot of time and a lot of personnel.
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (46264)
• Staten Island, New York
10 Oct
I don’t even fully understand it. Spoiled napkins go into compost. What about soiled paper towels? And what if neither are soiled, do they go in the trash?
I had stewed potatoes and mushrooms my mom had made that I didn’t get to eat. I threw that in the compost pile. I hope that was correct.
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (46264)
• Staten Island, New York
9 Oct
I wonder if they will file a police report.
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (46264)
• Staten Island, New York
10 Oct
My in-laws live in an apartment building. They got rats crawling outside at the back of the building and in the front too. How in the heck can a building follow composting rules? I doubt every tenant will separate compost from trash.
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (46264)
• Staten Island, New York
10 Oct
I don’t think this thing will work and be effective. Rats ain’t gonna go anywhere. And they will probably make a hefty sum from fining people. Plus all those extra bins… we got enough bins already.
And if you’re gonna make people compost then be very specific in terms of what you can and cannot compost. They didn’t do that in my opinion. Like can I compost moldy food scraps or spoiled foods? Are soiled paper towels going into compost or into trash? What about soiled toilet paper?
For a while now they made a rule that garbage must be taken outside in a can only on or before a certain time in the day. I forget exact time. If you take it out earlier you can get fined. My mom’s friend got fined for that, except it wasn’t him that did that but a neighbor who put their can by his house instead of theirs.
For a while now they made a rule that garbage must be taken outside in a can only on or before a certain time in the day. I forget exact time. If you take it out earlier you can get fined. My mom’s friend got fined for that, except it wasn’t him that did that but a neighbor who put their can by his house instead of theirs.1 person likes this
@porwest (99838)
• United States
11 Oct
My in-laws live in an apartment building. They got rats crawling outside at the back of the building and in the front too. How in the heck can a building follow composting rules? I doubt every tenant will separate compost from trash.
@lovebuglena It's enough to get people to recycle. Now they want people to compost? How many garbage cans do we now not only have to keep outside, but inside to keep it all separated?
@allknowing (145623)
• India
10 Oct
Those with gardens can use that compost We have compost pits and that compost is really good.
@allknowing (145623)
• India
10 Oct
@lovebuglena I have never seen mold on the compost that gets ready for feeding our garden.
@lovebuglena (46264)
• Staten Island, New York
10 Oct
What if food bits are spoiled or have mold on them? Is that good for composting?
@lovebuglena (46264)
• Staten Island, New York
10 Oct
@allknowing I’m wondering if spoiled foods have to go in the trash or in compost pile.
1 person likes this
@kaylachan (77517)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
9 Oct
Probably a sad attempt at going green and trying to lesson what goes to landfills.
@kaylachan (77517)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
10 Oct
@lovebuglena I doubt they have people looking through your trash to decide weather or not you're correctly conposting things. I think they just take a count of how many conpost bins they pick up. But, I wouldn't worry. We get a real small recycle bin, and a really large one for waste here. If they really wanted us to go green, I don't think they'd make it so difficult.
@lovebuglena (46264)
• Staten Island, New York
10 Oct
I started separating the stuff but sometimes I forget and throw something in the trash instead. Gonna take getting used to. Also, from what I read it seems we take out the compost stuff only when recycling gets picked up. That makes no sense. If I have smelly food I don’t want it sitting in my kitchen for a whole week.
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (46264)
• Staten Island, New York
10 Oct
@kaylachan I read on the department of sanitation website they fine people who fail to properly compost. First offense is $25 I believe. Then it goes up with each offense. You do it again you get fined a higher amount.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (353313)
• Rockingham, Australia
10 Oct
This sounds like it could be quite a nightmare. We have two bins - one for general rubbish and one for recyclables.
@JudyEv (353313)
• Rockingham, Australia
11 Oct
@lovebuglena Especially if the houses don't have wide frontage.
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (46264)
• Staten Island, New York
10 Oct
Though not required there are two bins for recycling—one for papers and carton boxes, and the other for metal, plastic, glass. Add that to the garbage bin and compost bin and it makes four bins. That’s a lot of bins on the curb come garbage/recycling day.
1 person likes this
