First Brooklyn Smart Compost Bins Appear on Bed Stuy Streets

On a walk down Patchen Avenue late last week, we noticed a welcome addition to some street corners: the city’s bright orange Smart Compost bins for composting.

According to the map on the NYC Compost mobile app, Bed Stuy is the first Brooklyn neighborhood to get the public composting bins, which were first rolled out in lower Manhattan and Astoria in 2021. It looks like around 25 containers have been installed in the neighborhood along many of the larger thoroughfares. Along Patchen Avenue, bins were stationed on the corners of Monroe, Hancock, MacDonough and Sumpter streets.

One passerby told us she was happy to see the bins arrive in the neighborhood, but she took a second trying to figure out how open the receptacle before noticing the instructions on the side: The bins are sealed shut and can only be opened through the NYC Compost app downloaded to a mobile phone.

As per the bright illustrations on the drop-off bins’ sides, they accept food scraps including vegetables, fruit, dairy, meat, bones and prepared food as well as food-soiled paper such as napkins, towels, plates, teabags and coffee filters. Also accepted is plant waste such as cut flowers and plants. The bins are available 24/7 and “will help reduce the amount of food scraps sent to landfills,” according to the Department of Sanitation website. All food scraps will be processed locally at “community scale compost sites” and the resulting compost will be used to “beautify green spaces across the city.”

When the bins were first rolled out in 2021, DSNY said in a press release that it collects 12,000 tons of trash and recycling each day, and up to a third of the waste stream may be compostable.

“Whether it’s the steady roll-out of curbside composting, the addition of more community-based food scrap drop off sites, or these new Smart Bins, DSNY is committed to getting compostable material out of landfills,” then DSNY Commissioner Edward Grayson said in the release. “We are excited to see how these new bins perform, and urge everyone who lives or works near one to give them a try.”

In August, while announcing a full-borough composting program in Queens, Mayor Eric Adams said 250 Smart Compost bins are being installed across the city.

He added any new installs after the August announcement would be in communities across the five boroughs, with a focus on areas in Manhattan above 125th Street, the South Bronx, the North Shore of Staten Island and Central Brooklyn.

Until the pandemic, NYC households composted food waste in vermin-proof brown bins they set out on the curb for pickup weekly. As well, a partnership of community and botanic gardens and Big Reuse continue to operate composting drop off at 75 sites citywide.

DSNY spokesperson Vincent Gragnani confirmed a total of 250 bins will be installed, but did not specify where the remaining bins will be located.

[Photos by Anna Bradley-Smith]

Related Stories

• Where Brooklynites Can Bring Their Scraps for Composting
• CB6 Neighborhoods Will Be the First to See the Return of Curbside Organics Pickup Next Week
• Fed Up With Litter, Rats, Locals Inspire Compost-Focused Cleanup Plan From Gowanus to Greenpoint

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