New York has begun rolling out a large-scale organic waste collection program, but the landmark initiative has upset many of the local groups that previously handled composting, who say they now face critical funding cuts. John Surico, a resident of the Queens borough, started separating his food scraps seven years ago. At the time, he carried his organic waste—which he stored frozen in his refrigerator—across his neighborhood to a collection site. "The facility on Staten Island will now be able to process as much as 95,000 tons of organic waste per year, thanks to a new, accelerated treatment method—aerated static pile composting—that cuts decomposition time in half. "Nobody out there wants to fund community composting if the city doesn't make a commitment," said Marisa DeDominicis, co-founder of Earth Matter NY, an organization that allows Governors Island in the bay of New York to compost its own organic waste.

Source: Forbes March 11, 2024 06:54 UTC