One of my main goals right now is to reduce my family's impact on the environment and to try and make our lives a little more sustainable. We recycle, we don't buy plastic bottles unless absolutely necessary and we try to buy used items when it makes sense. The next step is composting!
According to
GrowNYC, 17% of NYC's waste is food scraps, which contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. Food also isn't easily able to break down in a landfill. I realized that our garbage output would be greatly reduced if we started composting. If I had a backyard, it would be fairly easy to figure out. But in the city, living in an apartment building, composting takes a little more planning.
I decided that a worm bin isn't right for us (sounds like a messy plan with a toddler--and where would we keep it?). Our apartment building tried a compost bin last year, but it was misused, and thus short lived. So our only option is composting off site. For now we're holding our food and plant scraps in the freezer and bringing them to the Green Market once a week. It's not the most convenient plan though, so I'm looking into joining a local garden, someplace we can bring our compost whenever we wish, rather than on the once a week schedule for the Green Market.
If you're wondering what food items are okay to compost, or want more info about composting, please look at the list below and check out the
GrowNYC website.
WHAT TO COMPOST:
YES: fruit and vegetable scraps, non-greasy food scraps (rice, pasta, bread, cereal, etc.), coffee grounds & filters, tea bags, egg and nut shells, pits, cut or dried flowers, houseplants, potting soil
NO: meat, fish, bones, greasy food scraps, fat, oil, dairy, dog or cat waste, kitty litter, coal or charcoal, coconuts, diseased and/or insect-infested houseplants / soil or biodegradable / compostable plastics
