Composting in NYC

There are usually two ways to compost: outdoors or indoors with a worm bin.

OUTDOOR COMPOSTING

Six steps:
1) Set up a bin. Although urban homes usually don’t have as much space as other suburban or rural homes, there is still plenty of space for composting! Choose the best design for your house, backyard, terrace, or even alley. If you want to use food scraps in your composting process, I’d suggest a closed bin to keep pests and rodents away. You may place your bin on soil or on concrete (although beware of staining) and in the shade or a sunny spot, any option is okay. If you are placing your bin on soil and the bottom is open, I’d suggest placing a screen on the bottom to prevent burrowing animals from entering the bin and eating all the food! [The screen will still allow certain organisms to pass through that aid the composting process.] For those lazy people such as myself, take a large 20/30 ounce garbage can and drill holes in the lid, sides, and bottom to use as a compost bin.
Voila! You are ready to start composting.

2) Add organic materials. There are two types of organic materials to put in your compost bin, “greens” and “browns”. Always start with browns, and layer in a pattern (brown, green, brown, etc) topping with brown to keep away pests and flies. Try to keep an even amount of browns and greens to aid in the composting process.
Greens (fresh, moist, nitrogen-rich materials)
-from the garden: green plants, garden trimmings, fresh leaves & flowers, grass clippings
-from the kitchen: fruits & vegetable scraps, coffee grounds & tea bags, manure & bedding from animals that only eat plants, cornstarch and other organic packing materials
Browns (dead, dry, carbon-rich materials)
-from the garden: fall leaves, twigs, woody prunings, dry plant material, straw and hay, pine needles, potting soil
-from the kitchen: bread and grains, egg shells, nutshells, corncobs, food-soiled paper towels & napkins, shredded newspaper, sawdust & woodshavings, stale beans, flour, spices, wood ashes, brewery waste, hops, pomice

Avoid! anything pesticide-treated, diseased plants, poison ivy, invasive weeds, sand, meat or fish scraps, dairy products, fats, grease/oil, cat/dog waste, kitty litter, colored/glossy paper, coal/charcoal ashes, plastics, metals, or glass.  

3) Check moisture. The ideal moisture level should be that of a wrung out sponge- not too soggy. Greens usually provide most of the moisture and the browns soak it up and distribute it throughout the bin. If you’re composting mainly browns, add water to the bin as evenly as possible. During the warm summer months you may need to add water more often. Never let your compost dry out! Check on it at least once a week.

4) Turn the compost pile. Turning the compost allows air to enter the materials, which is vital in this process. Use a rake, pitchfork, compost crank, or even a long stick to mix and fluff up the compost. It’s best to move the center of the pile to the outskirts and the outskirts to the center. It’s best to turn your pile once every two weeks.

5) Check on the compost. Continue to add browns and greens, turn the pile, and check the moisture.

6) Use your compost. Use your compost to amend soils, for flower beds, potted plants, the lawn, planting trees, etc. 

INDOOR COMPOSTING

Choose a worm bin. It’s suggested to use a one-cubic foot plastic container that’s 8-12 inches deep. Make sure it has a lid and drill 10-15 holes in the lid.

Make the bedding material. Shred newspaper length-wise into strips about an inch thick. I suggest dipping the newspaper in water, wringing it out, and then shredding it. Place messily into bin, making sure it is fluffy so worms can crawl through and feel at home as they move around. 

Add worms. Worms are available for purchase at the Lower East Side Ecology Center. Distribute worms on the top of the bedding. Put on the lid. The worms will eventually find their way into the bedding.

Add food. Worms love fruit and vegetable scraps, coffee grounds and paper tea bags (remove staples from tea bags). Do not leave food scraps on top of the bin, make sure they’re covered by bedding. You can feed your worms all at once, or a little each day.

Harvest your compost. Move all contents to one side of the container. Add new moistened bedding to the empty side and start placing food scraps on that side of the bin. In about a month, all the worms will make their way to the new side with the food scraps and you’ll be able to gather the worm-free compost for use. 

For more info visit nyc.gov/wasteless/compost