Cash Grants Available for Composting Programs

In the February issue of Habitat, we told you that brown is becoming the new green, as the city ramps up its curbside collection of organic waste. Some 300,000 households now get the service, and that number is set to soar, thanks to NYC Organics, which runs the growing network of curbside pickups and drop-off sites. 

Instead of going to landfills, that organic matter – about one-third of the city’s waste – will get turned into soil-enriching compost. “An apple core is not garbage,” as Louise Bruce of NYC Organics puts it. “It’s a packet of nutrients.”

Now there’s a program to stimulate New Yorker to produce and use those packets of nutrients. The Citizens Committee for New York City and the Manhattan Solid Waste Advisory Board are teaming up to start and expand composting programs in all five boroughs. Grants of up to $750 will be awarded to community associations, community gardens, friends of park groups, housing development groups, nonprofits, schools, colleges and universities, hospitals, and private businesses.

Applications are due March 24. Learn more by clicking here. Or call 212-822-9567.