Established in 2011, the GrowNYC Compost Program strives to make composting second-nature for all New Yorkers by operating residential Food Scrap Drop-off sites and partnering with community composting facilities to make compost locally. Part of a larger network of over 200 Food Scrap Drop-off sites in NYC, the GrowNYC Compost Program currently operates 52 food scrap drop-off sites serving 7 thousand regular weekly participants, diverting over 25 tons of food scraps from landfills each week.
See below for updates on GrowNYC locations, and check the citywide map for more options.
You can support our work by donating here.
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Please see our list of what to bring and adhere to the drop-off schedule at each location (do not bring food scraps to closed sites). Food scraps cannot be accepted outside of stated open hours. All locations are year-round unless otherwise noted.
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In cases of severe weather, collections may close early or be cancelled. Please drop early and check our blog or follow us on social media for schedule updates.
BOROUGH | LOCATION | DAY | COLLECTION SCHEDULES | OPERATED BY | PROCESSING SITE | FLYER |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bronx | BronxWorks Carolyn McLaughlin Community Center 1130 Grand Concourse |
Thursdays |
9am-1:30pm | GrowNYC | Staten Island Compost Facility | Flyer |
Bronx | Fordham Plaza Food Scrap Drop-off E Fordham Rd & 3rd Ave |
Fridays |
8:30am-11:30am | GrowNYC | Staten Island Compost Facility | Flyer |
Bronx | Lincoln Hospital Greenmarket 149th St b/t Park and Morris Aves |
Closed for the season | Closed for the season | GrowNYC | Staten Island Compost Facility | Flyer coming soon |
Bronx | Morrisania Farmstand McKinley Square at 169th St & Boston Rd |
Thursdays | 8:30am-1pm | GrowNYC | Staten Island Compost Facility | Flyer |
Bronx | Mott Haven Food Scrap Drop-off 541 E 139th St |
Thursdays | 8am-12pm | GrowNYC | Staten Island Compost Facility | Flyer |
Bronx | New Roots Community Farm 670 Grand Concourse |
Fridays |
8am-12pm | GrowNYC | Staten Island Compost Facility | Flyer |
Bronx | Norwood Farmstand E Gun Hill Rd & Dekalb Ave |
Thursdays | 9:30am-2pm | GrowNYC | Staten Island Compost Facility | Flyer |
Bronx | Parkchester Food Scrap Drop-off Virginia Ave & Hugh Grant Circle |
Fridays |
7:30am-12:30pm | GrowNYC | Staten Island Compost Facility | Flyer |
Brooklyn | 7th Ave Sunset Park Greenmarket 7th Ave & 44th St |
Saturdays | 8am-12:30pm | GrowNYC | Staten Island Compost Facility | Flyer |
Brooklyn | Bay Ridge Greenmarket 3rd Ave & 95th Street |
Saturdays | 8am-1pm | GrowNYC | Staten Island Compost Facility | Flyer |
Brooklyn | Bed-Stuy Farmstand Decatur St and Lewis Ave |
Fridays |
7am-10:30am | GrowNYC | Staten Island Compost Facility | Flyer |
Brooklyn | Bensonhurst Greenmarket 18th Ave & 81st St |
Sundays | 9am-1:30pm | GrowNYC | Earth Matter NY | Flyer |
Brooklyn | Brooklyn Borough Hall Greenmarket Court St & Montague St |
Saturdays | 7:30am-12pm | GrowNYC | Staten Island Compost Facility | Flyer |
Brooklyn | Carroll Gardens Greenmarket Smith St and 1st Pl |
Sundays | 8am-12pm | GrowNYC | Earth Matter NY | Flyer |
Brooklyn | Cortelyou Greenmarket Cortelyou Rd & Rugby Rd |
Sundays | 9am-1pm | GrowNYC | Queens Botanical Garden | Flyer |
Brooklyn | Crown Heights Farmstand Nostrand Ave and Crown St |
Fridays |
8am-1pm | GrowNYC | Staten Island Compost Facility | Flyer |
Brooklyn | Crown Heights Franklin Ave Food Scrap Drop-off Eastern Parkway & Franklin Ave |
Fridays |
8:30am-12:30pm | GrowNYC | Staten Island Compost Facility | Flyer |
Brooklyn | Flatbush Junction Food Scrap Drop-off Hillel Pl & Flatbush Ave |
Sundays |
10am-1:30pm | GrowNYC | Queens Botanical Garden | Flyer |
Brooklyn | Ft. Greene Greenmarket Washington Park & Willoughby Ave |
Saturdays | 8am-1pm | GrowNYC | Staten Island Compost Facility | Flyer |
Brooklyn |
Grand Army Plaza Greenmarket |
Saturdays | 7:30am-3pm | GrowNYC | Staten Island Compost Facility | Flyer |
Brooklyn | Kensington Food Scrap Drop-off McDonald Ave & Albemarle Rd |
Saturdays | 8:30am-12pm | GrowNYC | Staten Island Compost Facility | Flyer |
Brooklyn | Leif Ericson Park Food Scrap Drop-off Ft. Hamilton Parkway b/t 66 & 67th Sts. |
Sundays | 8:30am-12:30pm | GrowNYC | Earth Matter NY | Flyer |
Brooklyn | McCarren Park Greenmarket N 12th St and Driggs Ave |
Saturdays | 8am-12pm | GrowNYC | Staten Island Compost Facility | Flyer |
Brooklyn | Newkirk Ave - Little Haiti Food Scrap Drop-off Newkirk Ave & Nostrand Ave |
Fridays | 7:30am-1:30pm | GrowNYC | Staten Island Compost Facility | Flyer |
Brooklyn | Wilson Ave Food Scrap Drop-off Wilson Ave & Moffat St |
Fridays | 7:30am-11am | GrowNYC | Staten Island Compost Facility | Flyer |
Manhattan | 58th Street Library Food Scrap Drop-off E 58th St b/t Park Ave and Lexington Ave |
Wednesdays | 7:30am-12:30pm | GrowNYC | Staten Island Compost Facility | Flyer |
Manhattan | 79th St Greenmarket 77th St between Columbus Ave & Central Park West |
Sundays | 9am-3pm | GrowNYC | Earth Matter NY | Flyer |
Manhattan | E 96th Street Food Scrap Drop-off East 96th St & Lexington Ave |
Fridays |
7:30am-11am | GrowNYC | Staten Island Compost Facility | Flyer |
Manhattan | 97th Street Greenmarket W 97th & Amsterdam |
Fridays |
8am-11:30am | GrowNYC | Staten Island Compost Facility | Flyer |
Manhattan | 145th St Food Scrap Drop-off 145th St & Edgecombe Ave |
Thursdays | 8:30am-1pm | GrowNYC | Staten Island Compost Facility | Flyer |
Manhattan | 181st Street Food Scrap Drop-off 181st St & Fort Washington Ave |
Thursdays |
8am-1:30pm |
GrowNYC | Staten Island Compost Facility | Flyer |
Manhattan | Abingdon Square Greenmarket W12th St & 8th Ave |
Saturdays | 7:30am-12pm | GrowNYC | Staten Island Compost Facility | Flyer |
Manhattan | Abyssinian Tot Lot Food Scrap Drop-Off 130 W 139th Street |
Saturdays | 7:30am-12pm | GrowNYC | Staten Island Compost Facility | Flyer |
Manhattan | Asphalt Green Food Scrap Drop-off East 91st St & York Ave |
Sundays | 7:30am-12:30pm | GrowNYC | Earth Matter NY | Flyer |
Manhattan | Columbia University Greenmarket 116th St & Broadway |
Sundays | 8am-12pm | GrowNYC | Earth Matter NY | Flyer |
Manhattan | Dag Hammarskjold Plaza Greenmarket E 47th St & 2nd Ave. |
Wednesdays |
8am-12:30pm | GrowNYC | Staten Island Compost Facility | Flyer |
Manhattan | Inwood Greenmarket Seaman Ave & Isham St (N corner) |
Saturdays | 7:30am-11:30am | GrowNYC | Staten Island Compost Facility | Flyer |
Manhattan | Madison Square Park Food Scrap Drop-off Madison Ave & E 25 Street |
Wednesdays | 7:15am-1pm | GrowNYC | Staten Island Compost Facility | Flyer |
Manhattan | St. Mary's Harlem 521 West 126th St |
Fridays |
8:30am-12pm |
GrowNYC | Staten Island Compost Facility | Flyer |
Manhattan | Tompkins Square Greenmarket E 7th St & Ave A |
Sundays | 8am-5pm | LESEC | LESEC | LESEC |
Manhattan | Tribeca Greenmarket Greenwich St & Duane St |
Saturdays | 8am-11:30am | GrowNYC | Staten Island Compost Facility | Flyer |
Manhattan | Tucker Square Greenmarket 66th St & Columbus Ave |
Thursdays |
9am-12pm |
GrowNYC | Staten Island Compost Facility | Flyer |
Manhattan | Union Square Greenmarket NE Section of Union Square Park |
Mon, Wed, Fri, Sat |
8am-5pm | LESEC | LESEC | LESEC |
Queens | Commonpoint Queens in partnership with The Forest Hills Green Team 67-09 108th St, Forest Hills, NY 11375 |
Sundays |
10am-1pm | Forest Hills Green Team | Staten Island Compost Facility | Flyer coming soon |
Queens | Corona Food Scrap Drop-off Roosevelt Ave & 103 St |
Sundays |
8:30am-1pm | GrowNYC | Staten Island Compost Facility | Flyer |
Queens | Forest Hills Greenmarket 70th Ave & Austin St |
Sundays | 9am-12pm | GrowNYC | Staten Island Compost Facility | Flyer |
Queens | Jackson Heights Greenmarket 79th St and Northern Blvd |
Sundays |
7:30am-2pm | GrowNYC | Staten Island Compost Facility | Flyer |
Queens | Kew Gardens Food Scrap Drop-off Metropolitan Ave & Audley St |
Fridays | 9am-12pm | GrowNYC | Staten Island Compost Facility | Flyer |
Queens | Ridgewood Food Scrap Drop-off Myrtle Ave & Cypress Ave |
Fridays | 8am-11:30am | GrowNYC | Staten Island Compost Facility | Flyer |
Queens | Sunnyside Greenmarket Skillman Ave & 42nd St |
Saturdays | 9am-1pm | GrowNYC | Staten Island Compost Facility | Flyer |
Queens | Terraza 7 Food Scrap Drop-off 40-19 Gleane St |
Sundays | 8am-1:30pm | GrowNYC | Staten Island Compost Facility | Flyer |
Key:
LESEC = Lower East Side Ecology Center
Frequently Asked Questions
Why compost?
Composting is one of the easiest things that everyone can do to improve the environment, with benefits including:
- Sending Zero Waste to Landfills - over ⅓ of New York City’s residential waste stream is made up of organic waste that could be composted, including food scraps, food-soiled paper, and yard waste.
- Fighting Climate Change - making compost locally cuts down on carbon emissions from hauling trash long distances, and methane emissions generated by anaerobic decomposition of food waste in landfills.
- Turning Waste into a Resource - compost is a valuable fertilizer that returns nutrients to soil and helps plants thrive. Food scraps dropped-off with GrowNYC become compost that is distributed for free to community gardens, urban farms, neighborhood parks, street tree beds, and members of the public.
- Keeping it Local - food scraps collected by GrowNYC are processed locally in partnership with NYC Compost Project host sites and other partners, including Big Reuse, Earth Matter, Lower East Side Ecology Center, Queens Botanical Garden, Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden, and Waste Management.
What can I compost with GrowNYC?
- Accepted Materials: fruit & vegetable scraps, non-greasy food scraps (rice, pasta, bread, grains, cereal), coffee grounds & filters, tea bags, egg shells & nuts, cut flowers & houseplants, soiled brown paper products, potting soil.
- Do Not Bring: meat, fish, bones, dairy, fat, oil, greasy food scraps, animal waste, charcoal, coconuts, plastics, twist ties, rubber bands, receipts, insect-infested plants, vines, excavated soil.
How should I store my food scraps?
Food scraps can be collected in reusable containers, paper bags, or plastic bags. To reduce odors at home and at the collection sites, store items in the freezer or refrigerator. A layer of shredded newspaper at the bottom of your storage container also helps.
How can I enroll in Curbside Composting?
Starting in October, 2021, The NYC Department of Sanitation's residential Curbside Composting service is resuming on a rolling basis based on the number of sign-ups in each neighborhood. Sign up at nyc.gov/curbsidecomposting.
How can I make compost at home?
We recommend reading the NYC Compost Project's Outdoor Composting Guide and Indoor Composting Guide for an introduction on the art and science of making compost. If you want to dig deeper, check out the Master Composter Manual and get involved with your nearest NYC Compost Project host site.
Can businesses drop off materials to compost?
No. Commercial food scraps are not accepted at these sites. Businesses should contact a hauler who can handle commercially-generated organic waste.
How has participation in the GrowNYC Compost Program changed over time?
The GrowNYC Food Scrap Drop-off Program is a partnership between the City of New York, the NYC Department of Sanitation, GrowNYC, and community partners.