Community Compost Drop-Off: One Half Hour

I spent a half hour at the Lower East Side Ecology Center’s “presence” at the Union Square Greenmarket on an unbearably hot day to ask some committed people about why they drop off their compost. One woman not interviewed dumped a plastic clamshell of string beans in while another woman who was “late for her appointment” cheerfully dropped off her week’s vegetable refuse. Here’s a quick and unscientific survey:

David, 34, East Village

Has been depositing his organic waste at the drop off for several years in order to reduce landfill waste.

Tammy, 34, Murray Hill

Her second time depositing and thrilled to know about this resource.

Jeff, 38, Flatiron (with a sleeping toddler in tow)

Has been bringing their organic waste for four months. “We’re pretty environmentally conscious. Since doing this, we found our waste has gone down 50%.”

David, 33, Upper West Side

Has been bringing his waste here for nearly two years so he “can sleep at night.”

Carl, 55, Stuyvesant Square

Has been coming for a month. “We used to have a house where we could bury our waste… It seemed a shame to let the organic refuse go to waste.”

Rachel, 27, Bedford-Stuyvesant

She’s been coming nearly two years because “all her worms died. It’s good that I can do this without a worm bin."

The L Magazine’s NYC Green Awards: Feed a Worm, Not a Landfill

Winning a NYC Green Award in the July 8-21, 2009 issue of “The L Magazine” was Matthew Sheehan, a former elementary school teacher (and father of a first grader). Sheehan has overseen the implementation of 15 worm composting bins at P.S. 146, The Brooklyn New School. This is but a part of a larger project he has in mind for converting cafeteria waste into compost. Called "Feed a Worm, Not a Landfill," Touted by “The L Magazine” as “the best way to get little kids not to step on worms,” Sheehan's idea projects 100 percent of school food waste turned into compost by vermiculture compost systems (VCSs), which would then be sold and/or used on the school's garden.

This project fits with Brooklyn New School’s philosophy of students mastering concepts as active thinkers and doers—in which math, science, social studies, art, and music are integrated in hands-on exploration. Studying the city, the environment, history, and culture, students at this educational community learn to ask questions, use tools to measure, make estimates, and draw conclusions about what they see and feel. Ultimately, they learn to develop ties to others—and to the past and future.

The L Magazine Green Awards 2009