As one of the most environmentally aware neighborhoods in New York City, the West Village continues to further its efforts to ‘reuse reduce recycle.’ A strong example of this is our local food scrap and curbside organics collection program.
Funded by the New York City Council (and its Speaker, Corey Johnson) for our area, this is a combined municipal and non-profit project by the Department of Sanitation and the Lower East Side Ecology Center.
For those residents who do not live in buildings large enough to have their own brown food scrap bin and/or curbside collections, neighbors are encouraged to save food scraps at home and drop them off at convenient sites in the neighborhood.
Food scraps can be saved in many ways—yogurt tubs, plastic bags, paper bags, take-out containers, milk cartons, mini garbage cans, perforated metal containers, and coffee cans are good examples. The closed containers can be frozen—or not—left out on a kitchen counter or wherever there’s room. A helpful hint to keep odors down is to place layers of newspaper in the containers. They will absorb some of the smells and can be recycled along with the scraps.
Lower East Side Ecology Center worker Susan Shaw has been manning the Sheridan Square/Christopher Street Tuesday 8-11am drop off site since November 2018.
Shaw has been watching as participation steadily grows. Currently two barrels—each weighing between 75 and 80 pounds—are being filled during every three-hour collection morning. Approximately three months after food scraps have been collected, rich high-quality compost is produced and then distributed to city parks and gardens.
Materials Accepted For Compost
- Fruit & veggie scraps
- Rice, pasta, bread, cereal
- Stale beans, flour & spices
- Coffee, filters, tea
- Eggshells, nuts, fruit pits
- Flowers & houseplants
- Potting soil
- Food-soiled paper
Materials Not Accepted For Compost
- Meat, fish, poultry, bones, shellfish
- Cheese & dairy products
- Fats, grease & greasy foods
- Pet feces, litter or bedding
- Coal or charcoal ashes
- Diseased or insect infested plants.
- Metal, glass or plastic (recycle it!)
THE WEST VILLAGE FURTHERS ITS EFFORTS TO RECYCLE: Susan Shaw of the Lower East Side Ecology Center with Christopher Street resident, Amy Haus, recycling at the Sheridan Square collection site. Photo by Ede Rothaus.
LOCATIONS
1st Ave. & E 1st St. (SW Corner) Monday/Wednesday/Friday, 8am-11am
West side of 1st Ave. between Houston & E 1st St., in front of Mudpark.
Clinton St. & Grand St. (SW Corner) Monday/Friday, 8am-11am. West side of Clinton St. and South side of Grand St., in front of the Citibank.
East Broadway & Rutgers St. (SE
Corner) Wednesday, 8am-11am. East side of Rutgers St. between East Broadway and Henry St., around the
corner from Wu’s Wonton.
6th Ave. & Spring St. (NE Corner) Tuesday, 8am- 11am. East side of 6th Ave. and North side of Spring St., in front God’s Love We Deliver.
6th Ave.& Waverly Pl. (SE Corner) Thursday, 8am-11am. East side of 6th Ave. and South side of Waverly Place..
7th Ave.& Christopher St. (SW Corner) Tuesday, 8am-11am. West side of 7th Ave. and South side of Christopher St, in front of Village Cigar
23rd St. & 8th Ave. (SW Corner) Tuesday/Thursday, 8am-11am. South side of W 23rd St, West side of 8th Ave., in front of Vitamin Shoppe.
Union Square Greenmarket Monday/Wednesday/Friday/Saturday, 8am-5pm. Northeast quadrant of the plaza.
LES Ecology Center Community Garden Sunday, 8am-5pm. E 7th St. between Avenues B and C, North side.
East River Compost Yard (GPS coordinates: 40.711055, -73.978847) 24/7. South of the amphitheater.
St Peter’s Chelsea 346 West 20 Street — 24/7 Year round. Brown & Orange composting bins to right of Rectory door.
