The Department of Sanitation has proposed budget cuts which would eliminate community composting and outreach funding by the end of 2023. Budget cuts would eliminate food scrap collections at farmers markets, community composting, composting outreach, and community education. The cuts will eliminate the community composting and outreach teams at Big Reuse. Our outreach team has been teaching New Yorkers about the city's curbside organic waste collection for the last 2 years. Urge the Mayor and DSNY to halt the elimination of community compost programs and the outreach team! Our outreach team is dedicated, passionate, and enthusiastic about spreading composting awareness, and wants to keep supporting DSNY and the curbside collection program.
Actions:
- Request that Big Reuse’s outreach team provide outreach to your organizations, block associations, residential buildings, etc through DSNY's event request form, to demonstrate the demand for outreach around curbside collection.
- Please sign the petition to save community composting and outreach.
- Thank Council Members Nurse, Hanif, Caban, Gutierrez, Brewer, Won and Restler for their vocal support.
- Call other city council members and let them know that the city needs community composting and a curbside outreach team
- Ask your friends, families, and neighbors to sign the petition. Repost on social media.
What does the Curbside Outreach Team do?
Our Outreach team provides outreach to promote DSNY’s curbside composting service (currently Queens & Brooklyn), including tabling at community events, outreach events in high-rise buildings, canvassing 1-9 unit buildings, presenting to organizations, and supporting DSNY’s 40 lb givebacks and brown bin giveaways.
Our Curbside Composting Outreach Team’s Impact (9/2021 to 11/2023):
- 166,010 New Yorkers educated about Curbside Composting
- 83,564 addresses canvassed across Queens, Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Manhattan
- 312,780 pounds of locally-made compost distributed
- 19,373 free paper bags distributed for leaf collection
- 23,320 free kitchen scrap bins distributed
Why do New Yorkers need our Curbside Composting Outreach Team?
New Yorkers need our curbside composting outreach team to ensure residents and building management understand the new mandatory service now available to them. We help support and garner confidence for residents just starting their composting journeys. We connect New Yorkers to their communities and help change attitudes about food waste to make composting an accessible reality.