Food Scrap Drop-Offs
What you can compost depends on the scale at which you are processing the food scraps. Here at The NYC Compost Project hosted by Big Reuse we operate community scale composting sites so we are limited in what we can accept.
Food scraps Accepted:
Fruit and vegetable scraps
Coffee grounds, filters, and paper tea bags
Bread and grains
Egg and nut shells
Food-soiled paper towels and napkins
Shredded newspaper
Sawdust and wood shavings from untreated wood
Stale beans, flour, and spices
Cut or dried flowers
Houseplants
Feathers
BPI-Certified compostable plastics
food scraps not accepted:
Meat or fish scraps
Cheese or dairy products
Fats, grease, oil, or oily foods
Cat or dog feces
Kitty litter
Colored or glossy paper
Sawdust made from pressure-treated plywood or lumber
Coal or charcoal ashes
Non-compostable materials like plastic, metals, or glass
Diseased or insect-infested houseplants
Soil (dump it into a tree pit instead)
Diapers
OTHER COMPOSTING PROGRAMS
DSNY Curbside Composting Program - ALL food scraps (including meat, cheese, and bones), No trash or recyclable materials.
NYC Smart Composting Pilot Program - Accepts ALL food scraps in Astoria and the Lower East Side
Home Compost system - Depends on the method of composting
Big Reuse Collected Partner Sites
Food scrap drop-off sites are popping up all over the city! See DSNY Food Scrap Drop Off Map for options in your neighborhood, if you don't see a Big Reuse option below. Funding approved by the City Council supports the drop-offs along with efforts of dedicated volunteers and organizations.
Big Reuse has partnered with many inspiring community groups that sprang up when the City canceled curbside composting collection. Big Reuse hauls the collected food scraps back to our two community composting sites in Gowanus and Long Island City where we process them with Parks leaves and wood chips. We then give the compost away to community gardens and Parks!
We work with partners to collect foods at 70+ Food Scrap Drop Offs that we process at our two community compost sites. Below is a list of the sites we collect from. You can find national food scrap drop offs at http://bit.ly/FSDO-NY.
