Boroughwide composting program returns

Queens Borough President Donovan Richards happily announced the re-launch of the borough’s composting program with “Scrappy,” DSNY’s composting mascot. Photo from Queens Borough Donovan Richards’ Twitter

By Ryan Schwach

“Don’t be crappy, be scrappy,” says Queens Borough President Donovan Richards.

Richards, along with other officials and the New York City Sanitation Department announced the return of the popular Queens-wide curbside composting program this week.

All residential buildings, single and multi-family homes and apartment buildings in the borough will again receive weekly curbside composting collection after the program was put on pause during the winter.

Richards celebrated along with “Scrappy,” the Sanitation Department’s brown compost bin mascot.

“It is so great to have Scrappy back,” he said in a Twitter video.

According to DSNY’s data, 12.7 million pounds of material were collected in Queens during the composting program’s first season last year, marking the most successful implementation of a composting program in the city’s history.

Also according to the data, Queens districts outperformed many of the Brooklyn and Manhattan districts that have had the program for several years.

The district that included Jamaica, Hollis, St. Albans and Springfield Gardens, had never participated in organics collection before and collected more through the program than the entire seven-district legacy opt-in program, which had long been composting, combined.

“When Queens puts its mind to something, we put all our weight behind it - the proof is in the nearly 13 million pounds of waste we collected in just three months,” said Richards in a statement to the Eagle. “I couldn't be prouder of how the borough stepped up, specifically Southeast Queens, and shattered composting records last fall.”

“Initiatives like this are critical to our fight against climate change, and Queens will stop at nothing to ensure the borough we leave for our kids is not just habitable, but healthy. That's exactly what we're doing with this curbside composting program, and I can't wait to see this program expand citywide in the year ahead," he added.