Municipal composting has made its official debut in the country鈥檚 largest city. In October, New York City rolled out a聽curbside organic waste collection program for all five boroughs, expanding the service that already existed in Brooklyn and Queens. Residents and property managers have until spring to order and begin using dedicated composting bins, or building owners will face fines of $25 to $300.
The Big Apple joins a growing number of cities, counties, and states that are implementing organic waste collection policies as part of the fight against climate change. Garbage is a聽potent but overlooked source of climate pollution. When organic waste 鈥� everything from food scraps to grass clippings 鈥� decays in landfills, it emits methane, a聽greenhouse gas that can warm the planet as much as 80 times more than carbon dioxide within a聽20-year period. Landfills are the third-largest source of methane emissions both in the U.S. and globally.
But like other municipalities around the country, New York is now confronting the reality that translating composting policy into actual emissions reductions from landfills is a long and difficult process. The city first has to get composting bins to all its residents, an especially difficult task in crowded neighborhoods with large apartment buildings.