For the past few years, I’ve been taking my kitchen scraps (vegetable and fruit peels, egg shells, coffee grounds, tea bags, etc.) to the bins at the Union Square Greenmarket. The Lower East Side Ecology Center takes the waste and composts it. The results get used by parks and gardens throughout New York City. I decided to try growing some tomatoes inside my apartment this summer, so I picked up some potting soil of my own. It’s $1 per pound and comes in a great looking bag (way better than the Scotts stuff you get a Home Depot). My tomatoes have shot up and produced about 10 fruits, so they seem to like it too.
Food waste put in landfills (in the absence of oxygen) creates the greenhouse gas methane, which is a worse contributor to climate change than carbon dioxide. Learn more about composting.
Saving your kitchen scraps is easy. I keep them in plastic bags in my freezer, and then drop them off at the Greenmarket about once a week. Learn more about the community composting program.
