Americans waste A LOT of food–35 million tons a year! In fact, we throw out more food than plastic, paper, metal, or glass. If that wasn’t scary enough, this disturbing trend is increasing each year. In NYC, approximately 35 percent of our garbage consists of discarded food. This is where the beauty of a city wide composting program comes into play.
A couple years ago, New York City set an ambitious goal of diverting 75 percent of trash from landfills by 2030. With food waste taking up such a big chunk of valuable landfill real estate, it’s no wonder the city wants to expand its composting programs. Lucky for us, Greenpoint is next on the list!
Hey, did you know that you can now drop off your leftovers (ahem..compost) at the Greenpoint Ave G train every Monday morning and then pat your self on the back for saving the planet? This March marks the one year anniversary of the Commuter Composting initiative, which started in Queens and has made it our neck of the woods several months ago.
Compost hours are from 8:30am-10:30am, every Monday morning (except holidays) in front of the Garden (921 Manhattan Ave).
“With Commuter Composting, we are trying to meet New Yorkers where they are, which often happens to be on the way to the subway,” says NYC Compost Project Coordinator, Gina Baldwin.” In Greenpoint, we have about 100 households participating and dropping off in the two programs, diverting over 700lbs of food scraps per week.”
If that’s not part of your commute, you can check out other drop off locations here, including the McGolrick Park Farmers Market on Sundays from 11-2pm.
For tips on how to compost see this helpful resource guide.
Lutheran Church of The Messiah (129 Russell St) Hosts Winter Farmers Market
Down to Earth Markets is delighted to announce that the McGolrick Park Farmers Market will move indoors for the winter months to the Lutheran Church of the Messiah beginning on Sunday January 5, 2014. The church is located at 129 Russell Street, directly across the street from the market’s current outdoor location on Russell Street, between Driggs and Nassau Avenues. The market will continue to be held every Sunday, from 11 am to 4 pm. Continue reading →
WEDNESDAY 3/27 • Newtown Creek CAG Meeting @ LaGuardia Community College (31-10 Thomson Ave, E Building, Room E500) 6-8pm, a conversation with the EPA and NYCDEP about Superfund and Newtown Creek ♦ Free Cities Party NYC-Flint @ Metropolitan Exchange (33 Flatbush Ave) 8-10pm, silent auction, crepes, virtual tours, booze from Michigan, RSVP * Daiquiris & Dub @ Beloved (674 Manhattan Ave) 9pm, DJ Kahncept spinning heady dub and reggae, $7 Denizen Rum cocktails
THURSDAY 3/28 ♫ Gondola / Helioscope / Jeremy Mark Freer / Satellite Radion @ Bar Matchless (557 Manhattan Avenue) 7pm, $6 ♥ Is Feminism Sexy? @ Word (126 Franklin St) 7pm, Jennifer Armstrong discusses what feminism means to young women today, RSVP * Skate Night Rockaway Benefit @ Villain (50 N 3rd St) 9pm, FREE, live music, dj’s, mini ramps, art auction, raffle and prizes, food and drinks, RSVP ♥ Pussy Power Aerial & Variety Show @ House of Yes (342 Maujer St, Bushwick) 8pm, $15, estrogen-fueled super-circus celebrating the Va-J-J herself, RSVP ♫ Dichroics / Circle of Buzzards / Dead Stars @ Saint Vitus (1120 Manhattan Ave) 8pm, $10 ♫ Reggae Bash @ RBar (451 Meeker Ave) 9:30pm, FREE, 3 Kings Sound, RSVP ♫ Archipelago / Belle Mare / Ora Cogan @ Silent Barn (603 Bushwick Ave) 8pm
SATURDAY 3/30 * Easter Egg Hunt @ McGolrick/Winthrop Park, 11am, $5, Pack a picnic lunch and celebrate the start of spring! • Compost Harvest & Housecleaning @ North Brooklyn Compost Project (McCarren Park, N12th St and Driggs) 1-4pm, harvest compost, take some home, help fancy up the site ♥ Meat All About It @ TBD (214 Franklin St) 2pm, “lets make Misteaks together … bringing back the STEAK! and other yummy outdoor food, DJs Greg Smith & the Broken English at 6pm ♫ Ed Schrader’s Music Beat / Jamaican Queens / Free Blood / Zula @ Shea Stadium (20 Meadow St) 8pm, $8
SUNDAY 3/31 – Happy Easter! ♦ Easter Craft Fair @ Fashion Rock (372 Tompkins Ave, Bed-Stuy) 4-10pm, More info ♫ Unstoppable Death Machines / Fake Hooker / Respect / Laughters / Mtns. @ Silent Barn (603 Bushwick Ave) 8pm
TUESDAY 4/2 • North Brooklyn Boat Club Public Meeting @ Rod & Gun Club (59 Kent Ave) 8pm, Featuring: Paddles, boat building, boathouses, urban camping, gardens, ecology, and dolphins!
* Greenpointers’ Pick ♫ Music ♥ Pheremones likely ♦ Art Event
Composting is one of those things I really wanted to try this summer, and just didn’t. My boyfriend is sort of a neat freak, and I was worried the rumored smell and bucket of hot garbage on the balcony would put him over the edge. I was also concerned about the space it might take up – you know, Brooklyn-sized apartment and everything. Of course all of my concerns could have been assuaged with just a little more research. As it turns out, composting is pretty clean, easy, and compact after all.
I recently interviewed Kate Zidar, of The North Brooklyn Compost Project (NBCP) to find out the whys and hows of composting in our neighborhood. Founded in 2004, the NBCP is a community-based effort that seeks to reduce the amount of waste that ends up in the landfill, as well as improves the soil used in backyards and container gardens around Brooklyn. They are a super organization, and as you will find out, they have a ton of information that will calm your (and my boyfriend’s) worries about composting.
Greenpointers: How does someone start composting?
NBCP: If you have any access to backyard space, starting a pile is easy. You just need a source of “browns” (brown, dry, carbon rich material like shredded newspaper or saw dust) to layer on top of your “greens” (fresh scraps from the kitchen). The leaf fall in October is a perfect opportunity to stock pile browns. To get going, I would recommend a workshop with the city – they are FREE!
COMPOSTING WORKSHOPS
Saturday 8/25: Urban Food Waste Workshop @ 3rd Ward (195 Morgan Ave) 10am-1pm, More info
Thursday 8/30: North Brooklyn Compost Project Workshop – email Kate at [email protected] for more info
If you don’t have any backyard space to use, you can save up your scraps in the freezer and bring them to certain Greenmarkets.
Hey, did you know that you can now drop off your leftovers (ahem..compost) at the Greenpoint Ave G train every Monday morning and then pat your self on the back for saving the planet? This March marks the one year anniversary of the 
