Where your scraps actually go
You don't need a yard, a permit or a budget. Here's every route out of the trash bag, ordered from least effort to most.
1. City pickup · the easiest route
NYC now picks up compost from the front of buildings across the whole city, Brooklyn included. Put your food scraps and yard waste in a labelled, lidded bin out front on your recycling day and the city takes it from there. Any bin under 55 gallons with a tight lid and a compost label works · you don't have to wait for an official brown bin.
Living in a rental? You don't need the landlord's permission to separate your own scraps - but if your building has no bin out front, that's the thing worth asking the super for. One bin serves every apartment in the building.
2. Drop-off sites · good if your building has no bin
GrowNYC runs food scrap drop-off points at Greenmarkets and community sites across the city, and the NYC Compost Project supports community garden sites that take scraps directly. Flatbush, East Flatbush and Flatlands all sit within reach of Greenmarket and community garden drop-offs.
The move that makes this painless: keep a bag or container of scraps in your freezer during the week. No smell, no flies, and you carry it out once instead of every day.
3. Your own bin · apartment edition
- Countertop bin. A lidded container by the sink is the whole setup. Empty it into the city pickup bin or the freezer every few days.
- Worm bin (vermicomposting). Fits under a sink or on a fire escape, handles a household's scraps, and produces finished compost you can use on plants.
- Community garden plot. Many gardens in the area have a compost pile and welcome neighborhood scraps · ask before you show up with a bucket.
Official links
- DSNY Curbside Composting
Official rules, accepted materials and collection-day info for NYC residents.
- Request a brown bin from DSNY
Free official bins for buildings; any labelled lidded bin under 55 gallons also works.
- GrowNYC Food Scrap Drop-Off
Drop-off sites at Greenmarkets and community locations across the five boroughs.
- NYC Compost Project
Community composting sites, free workshops and finished-compost giveaways.
- Find your collection schedule
Enter your address to see which day your compost is picked up.
City programs change. Always confirm hours and accepted materials on the official page before you make a trip.
What happens to the finished compost
It goes back into soil · street tree pits, community garden beds, city parks and plantings. That's the loop the deck keeps pointing at: the same blocks that send scraps out are the blocks that get shade, cooler summers and better soil back.
NYC Compost Project sites regularly give finished compost away free to residents. If you keep houseplants or a window box, that's your soil.