The NYC Department of Sanitation announced two milestones in its compost giveback program. The Department has now given away more than 5 million pounds of finished compost to 10,000 New York City residents this year alone.
New York City residents, nonprofit organizations and city agencies can get free, high-quality compost made from the material collected from the city’s curbside composting program. DSNY gives away compost to residents at six seasonal compost pick-up sites in the spring and summer months, as well as pop-up community giveback events.
The Department’s Curbside Composting program serves residents in all five boroughs, making it the largest – and easiest – curbside composting program in the nation. To comply with NYC regulations requiring compostable material to be separated from the trash, residents set out their food scraps, food-
soiled paper and yard waste in a marked bin for collection on their weekly recycling day.
Published July 2026
