DSNY organic material trash cans. | Diane Bondareff/Invision for The Glad Products Company/AP Images City to expand organics collection program to nearly 1 million residents

The Sanitation Department will announce on Monday that it is expanding its pilot organics collection program, drawing nearly 1 million New Yorkers into the endeavor so far.

Isolating organics, such as food and yard waste, is a crucial element of Mayor Bill de Blasio's goal to cut landfill waste by 90 percent within the next 17 years. The material serves both as composted fertilizer and a potent source of methane gas when converted.


“Organic materials make up about a third of our trash. When you recycle your food and yard waste, you decrease the amount of garbage going to landfills and help create a greener and healthier New York City,” said Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia in a statement provided to POLITICO New York.

Throughout the fall and into December, the city will add parts of Dyker Heights in Brooklyn along with Ridgewood, Auburndale, Bayside, Douglaston, Little Beck, Hollis Hills and Oakland Gardens in Queens to the program.

Eligible residents will be given starter kits that include a kitchen container, an instruction brochure and an outdoor brown bin. Food scraps such as fruits, vegetables, egg shells, pasta, tea bags, coffee grounds and filters, baked goods, meat and bones are all considered acceptable along with yard clippings.

Unacceptable items include plastics of any kind, liquids, foam, animal waste, cigarettes, ashes and medical waste.

Department officials say the expansion will bring the number of residents participating in the program to roughly 960,000. With the addition of some high-rises, the number should exceed 1 million by next year, officials said.

The program additions come as the city also seeks to expand organics collection for large hotels, stadiums and food retailers. A rule went into effect in July requiring the businesses to separate their organic waste from other refuse but fines for skirting the requirement do not go into effect until next year.