We can’t talk about Curbside Composting in NYC without discussing the crucial work that our Curbside Composting Outreach Team is doing, be it tabling at community events, door-to-door canvassing, or staffing DSNY’s 40-lb compost and brown bin giveaways. With the mayor’s proposed budget cuts, our outreach team is at risk of being defunded.
This week, we’d like to introduce two outreach associates from our nine-person team:
“My name is TaeHo, and I have been working as an outreach associate for over a year and a half. I love my job because we get to spend time outside doing outreach in different communities. It’s beautiful to see that NYC really is a melting pot. My favorite outreach story is when we worked in Eastern Queens to help launch the borough-wide curbside composting program there. Having grown up in Korea for the majority of my life, I felt at home and comfortable talking to Korean community members, helping them order their brown bins and answering their questions. Residents were impressed that the city had sent me to talk to them in their mother tongues.”
“My name is Azra, and I have been with the team for about 14 months. I love my job because of my like-minded and talented teammates as well as the community partners and composting champions we meet when we’re doing outreach. I’m proud to work for an organization that cares about climate solutions and provides circular options. Considering the current climate crisis, we can’t do this important and impactful work alone. I’m grateful for my teammates, Big Reuse, and other organizations, partners, and compost advocates who remind me I’m not alone in this fight!”
Public outreach and community composting programs are necessary for NYC to become a more sustainable and vibrant community.
Our longtime partner, Down to Earth Farmers Markets, agrees:
“Big Reuse has visited our Brooklyn and Queens farmers markets a number of times to share information about the brown bin program and we would welcome them back at any time. Ideally, we would have them visit each of our markets on a regular basis as a way of connecting our communities to this important city service. We see Big Reuse as an essential part of the city’s outreach and vital to making sure that residents understand the food scrap recycling program and know how to use it.”
-Dacotah Rousseau, Down to Earth Farmers Markets
Learn more about the city’s curbside composting program at nyc.gov/curbsidecomposting.