Learn how to turn your everyday kitchen scraps into rich compost at Greene Acres!
Garden members can bring their own food scraps to be processed anytime, and non-members are welcome to bring their scraps to the compost area in the back of the garden every Sunday from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. to learn how to process them properly!
On Sundays, composters at Green Acres turn the compost bins and sift finished compost, which is used to help plots and common areas grow. These weekly work hours are a great way to get involved in the garden, or to stay involved as a member. You will learn all about our compost system and why it’s a more Earth-friendly alternative to even putting your food scraps in NYC brown bins. Members can also take finished compost home to use in their house plants. Greene Acres is not a public drop-off site, so don't leave scraps anywhere outside the bins or the gate.
Compost requires an even mix of greens and browns. Brown matter like straw, old leaves and sawdust is rich in carbon, while green matter like leaves and food scraps contributes nitrogen.
How to compost at Greene Acres
Put your food scraps in a bucket.
Chop up the scraps with a chopper tool (found in shed) so that they are no bigger than 2 inches long.
Add a bowlful of browns (found in garbage cans in compost area) to your scraps.
Mix the browns and your food scraps together in the bucket.
Pour your food scraps / browns mixture into the large bin labeled “Add Here.” This label moves depending on which compost needs more scraps.
Clean up any debris left in compost area.
What to compost
Good
Fruit and vegetable scraps, non-greasy food scraps (rice, pasta, bread, grains), coffee grounds and filters, tea bags, egg and nut shells, cut or dried flowers, non-diseased houseplants, paper towels, dryer lint, pet hair. (Make sure tea bags are compostable, some are made of plastic.)
Bad
Meat, chicken, fish, seashells, grease, dairy, animal waste, litter or bedding, coal or charcoal, diseased/infested or contaminated plants and soil, plastics, diapers, weeds.
Compost is key to waste reduction: 30% of New York City residential garbage is suitable for composting. People worry about saving scraps because they stink, but in fact, anaerobic (without oxygen) breakdown causes the stench. If you don't seal your compost in an airtight container, it won't stink when you open it. Get a bucket that is easy to carry when it is full, something with a lid too loose for stench but too tight for rodents. If you keep scraps in your kitchen, you may choose, like many members, to store your scraps in the freezer.
The Sanitation Department offers more information on NYC Organics Programs.
