New York City has taken a huge step forward to combat landfill waste and the problem of rats with the introduction of mandatory composting.
The initiative was announced in August 2022, but amNY reported it finally went into full effect Oct. 6. All NYC residents will now have to put organic waste into bins with a capacity of 55 gallons or less, with collections made once a week.
Brooklyn and Queens have mandatory composting in place already, but residents of Manhattan, the Bronx, and Staten Island can start by requesting a free bin from the Department of Sanitation.
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According to the Environmental Protection Agency, wasted food is the most common material that is landfilled and incinerated in the United States. But it's not just wasted food that is taking up space in polluting landfills and waste bags. Food scraps, such as vegetable and fruit peels, also account for the volume of discarded items.
But all this can be composted, helping to reduce the amount we send to ever-growing landfills. Those sites produce the planet-warming gas methane, which is up to 80 times more potent in heat-trapping potential than carbon dioxide, according to the EPA.
It will also allow the Department of Sanitation the opportunity to reuse the valuable nutrients in organic matter for other purposes — in natural fertilizers, for example.
Jessica Tisch, DSNY commissioner, described the scheme as a "win-win" that will also help to discourage rats through the proper disposal of waste.
Analysis from M&M Pest Control suggests that in 2022 and 2023 there were three million rats living in New York City, spreading illnesses and diseases and causing damage to properties and possessions.
If you don't live in New York City, that doesn't mean you can't compost at home. Composting — whether you buy an appropriate bin or just set aside an area of your yard — can have multiple benefits, including reducing what you send to a landfill, cutting your personal polluting output, and providing a fertilizer that you can use on plants or a vegetable patch.
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