The New York City Department of Sanitation has again expanded the NYC Organics voluntary curbside food and yard waste recycling program, extending it to the rest of Maspeth and Middle Village as of May 18. All single family homes and buildings with nine or fewer residential units will be automatically enrolled in the voluntary program. Residential buildings with 10 or more units may apply to participate. Building managers may find more information on the application process at nyc.gov/apt-recycling.

All eligible households will receive a starter kit which includes an indoor kitchen container, an instruction brochure, and either their own outdoor brown bin or a larger one to share for the building (if there are between three and nine units in the building). To participate in the program, residents place their food scraps, and soiled paper products such as paper napkins and paper plates, into their kitchen container. Residents may then transfer the material to their outdoor bin for DSNY collection on their pick up day. The collected material is managed locally and regionally. Some organic waste is turned into compost, and used locally by greening groups, such as urban farmers, community gardeners, and street tree stewards, to rebuild the City’s soil.