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. Currently re-building and fundraising in the wake of budget cuts related to COVID-19, the Compost Program has re-opened 15 food scrap drop-off sites serving 4 thousand regular weekly participants, diverting over 30 thousand pounds of food scraps from landfills each week. 

Food Scrap Drop-off sites and Curbside Composting service were suspended throughout NYC in Spring of 2020 due to budget cuts related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Please see Notice on the Suspension of GrowNYC’s Recycling Programs for more information on GrowNYC’s zero waste programming.

Thanks to your support, GrowNYC and the NYC Compost Project are able to bring back a select number of food scrap drop-off sites in Fall 2020.  See below for updates on GrowNYC locations, check the citywide map, and learn how else you can Keep Composting in NYC During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

To support our work, please donate here.

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GrowNYC Collection Schedule

Most Food Scrap Drop-Off sites in NYC have been closed since March 2020 due to budget cuts related to COVID-19. Check the status (Open vs. Closed) of the GrowNYC Food Scrap Drop-off sites below for updates.

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.

E-Newsletter

Sign up for Food Scrap Drop-Off Alerts to receive emails about compost schedule updates in your borough.

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.

SOME FOOD SCRAP DROP-OFF SITES HAVE RE-OPENED. CHECK STATUS BELOW FOR UPDATES.
(Updated 12/2/20)

STATUS	BOROUGH	LOCATION	DAY	TIME	OPERATED BY	PROCESSED BY	FUNDED BY
Open	Bronx	Fordham Plaza E Fordham Rd & 3rd Ave	Fridays	8am-11:30am	GrowNYC	Big Reuse	DSNY
Open	Bronx	New Roots Community Farm 670 Grand Concourse	Fridays	8am-12pm	GrowNYC	Big Reuse	DSNY
Open	Brooklyn	Bed Stuy Fresh Food Box Decatur St and Lewis Ave	Saturdays	11am-3pm	GrowNYC	Big Reuse	DSNY
Open	Brooklyn	Carroll Gardens Greenmarket Smith St and 1st Pl	Sundays	8am-12pm	GrowNYC	Big Reuse & Earth Matter	DSNY
Open	Brooklyn	Cortelyou Greenmarket Argyle Rd and Cortelyou Rd	Sundays	9am-1pm	GrowNYC	Earth Matter	DSNY
Open	Brooklyn	Ft. Greene Greenmarket Washington Park & Myrtle Ave	Saturdays	9am-1pm	GrowNYC	Big Reuse	DSNY
Open	Brooklyn	McCarren Park Greenmarket N 12th St and Driggs Ave	Saturdays	8am-12pm	GrowNYC	Big Reuse	DSNY
Open	Manhattan	79th St Greenmarket 77th St between Columbus Ave & Central Park West	Sundays	9am-3pm	GrowNYC	Earth Matter	Closed Loop Partners
Open	Manhattan	97th Street Greenmarket W 97th & Amsterdam	Fridays	8am-12:30pm	GrowNYC	LESEC	DSNY
Open	Manhattan	Abingdon Square Greenmarket W12th St & 8th Ave	Saturdays	8am-2pm	GrowNYC	Earth Matter	Closed Loop Partners
Open	Manhattan	Bowling Green Greenmarket Broadway at Battery Place	Tuesdays	8am-10am	Earth Matter	Earth Matter	DSNY
Open	Manhattan	Inwood Greenmarket Isham b/t Seaman & Cooper	Saturdays	8am-12pm	GrowNYC	Big Reuse	DSNY
Open	Manhattan	Stuy Town Greenmarket Stuyvesant Town Oval, near 14th Street Loop	Sundays	9:30am-1:30pm	GrowNYC & LESEC	LESEC	City Council Member Keith Powers
Open	Manhattan	Tompkins Square Greenmarket E 7th St & Ave A	Sundays	9am-5pm	LESEC	LESEC	DSNY
Open	Manhattan	Tribeca Greenmarket Chambers St & Greenwich St	Saturdays	8am-1pm	GrowNYC	Earth Matter	Closed Loop Partners
Open	Manhattan	Union Square Greenmarket NE Section of Union Square Park	Mon, Wed, Fri, Sat	8am-5pm	LESEC	LESEC	DSNY
Open	Manhattan	William B. Washington Memorial Garden 321 West 126th Street	Fridays	8am-12:30pm	GrowNYC	Big Reuse	DSNY
Open	Queens	Jackson Heights Greenmarket 79th St and Northern Blvd	Sundays	9am-1pm	GrowNYC & QBG	QBG	DSNY
Closed	Bronx	161st St - Yankee Stadium COTG 161st St & River Ave (4/B/D train)	Fridays	7:30am-11:30am	N/A	N/A	N/A
Closed	Bronx	Bronx Borough Hall Greenmarket Grand Concourse & 161st St	Tuesdays Closed for the season	8am-2pm	N/A	N/A	N/A
Closed	Bronx	BronxWorks Fresh Food Box 1130 Grand Concourse, lobby	Thursdays	2pm-6pm	N/A	N/A	N/A
Closed	Bronx	Brook Ave COTG 138th St & Brook Ave (6 train)	Fridays	7am-11am	N/A	N/A	N/A
Closed	Bronx	La Familia Verde Farmer's Market E Tremont Ave b/t Lafontaine & Arthur Aves	Tuesdays  Closed for the season	9am-1pm	N/A	N/A	N/A
Closed	Bronx	Learn It, Grow It, Eat It Youthmarket McKinley Square at 169th St & Boston Rd	Wednesdays Closed for the season	10am-3pm	N/A	N/A	N/A
Closed	Bronx	Lincoln Hospital Greenmarket 149th St b/t Park and Morris Aves	Fridays Closed for the season	8am-12pm	N/A	N/A	N/A
Closed	Bronx	New Settlement's 170 Farm Stand Townsend Ave & 170th St	Wednesdays  Closed for the season	2:30pm-5:30pm	N/A	N/A	N/A
Closed	Bronx	Parkchester Greenmarket Westchester Ave & White Plains Rd	Fridays Closed for the season	8am-2pm	N/A	N/A	N/A
Closed	Bronx	Poe Park Greenmarket Grand Concourse & 192nd St	Tuesdays  Closed for the season	8am-1:30pm	N/A	N/A	N/A
Closed	Bronx	Project HOPE Fresh Food Box  854 Hunts Point Ave b/t Gilbert Pl & Seneca Ave	Wednesdays	3pm-6:30pm	N/A	N/A	N/A
Closed	Brooklyn	Bay Ridge Greenmarket 3rd Ave & 95th St (Walgreen's Parking Lot)	Saturdays  Closed for the season	8am-1pm	N/A	N/A	N/A
Closed	Brooklyn	Brooklyn Borough Hall Greenmarket Court & Montague	Saturdays Thursdays	8am-2pm	N/A	N/A	N/A
Closed	Brooklyn	Franklin Ave Compost On-the-Go Franklin Avenue & Eastern Parkway (2/3/4/5 trains)	Tuesdays	7:30am-10:30am	N/A	N/A	N/A
Closed	Brooklyn	Jefferson St COTG Wyckoff Ave & Starr St (SE Corner) (L Train)	Thursdays	7:30am-10:30am	N/A	N/A	N/A
Closed	Brooklyn	Grand Army Plaza Greenmarket NW corner of Prospect Park	Saturdays	8am-4pm	N/A	N/A	N/A
Closed	Brooklyn	Parkside Plaza COTG Parkside Ave & Ocean Ave	Thursdays	7:30am-10:30am	N/A	N/A	N/A
Closed	Brooklyn	Prospect Heights COTG Park Place & Carlton Ave (B/Q trains)	Thursdays	7am-10am	N/A	N/A	N/A
Closed	Brooklyn	Wilson Ave COTG Wilson Ave & Moffat St (L Train)	Thursdays	8am-11am	N/A	N/A	N/A
Closed	Manhattan	57th St Greenmarket 57th St & 10th Ave	Saturdays Closed for the season Wednesdays Closed for the season	8am-1pm 8am-2pm	N/A	N/A	N/A
Closed	Manhattan	82nd St Greenmarket 82nd St b/t 1st & York	Saturdays	9am-1pm	N/A	N/A	N/A
Closed	Manhattan	92nd Street Greenmarket 1st Ave b/t 92nd & 93rd Sts	Sundays Closed for the season	9am-1pm	N/A	N/A	N/A
Closed	Manhattan	96th St COTG 96th St & Lexington Ave (6 train)	Wednesdays	7:15am-10:30am	N/A	N/A	N/A
Closed	Manhattan	116th St COTG 116th St & Lexington Ave (6 train)	Wednesdays	7:30am-10:30am	N/A	N/A	N/A
Closed	Manhattan	137th St - City College COTG 137th St & Broadway (1 train)	Wednesdays	7:15am-11am	N/A	N/A	N/A
Closed	Manhattan	145th St COTG 145th & Edgecombe (A/B/C/D trains)	Wednesdays	6:30am-10am	N/A	N/A	N/A
Closed	Manhattan	157th St COTG 157th St & Broadway (1 train)	Wednesdays	7am-11am	N/A	N/A	N/A
Closed	Manhattan	175th Street Greenmarket 175th St b/t Broadway & Wadsworth	Thursdays Closed for the season	8am-2pm	N/A	N/A	N/A
Closed	Manhattan	181st St COTG Ft. Washington Ave & 181st St (NE corner) (A train)	Wednesdays	6:45am-11:15am	N/A	N/A	N/A
Closed	Manhattan	Cathedral Parkway (110th St) COTG 110th St & Central Park West (B/C trains)	Wednesdays	6:45am-10:15am	N/A	N/A	N/A
Closed	Manhattan	Central Park North (110th St) COTG 110th St, St. Nicholas & Lenox Ave (2/3 trains)	Wednesdays	7am-10:15am	N/A	N/A	N/A
Closed	Manhattan	Columbia University Greenmarket Broadway b/t 114th & 115th Sts	Sundays Thursdays	8am-1pm 8am-3pm	N/A	N/A	N/A
Closed	Manhattan	Dag Hammarskjold Plaza Greenmarket E 47th St & 2nd Ave	Wednesdays	8am-3pm	N/A	N/A	N/A
Closed	Manhattan	Dyckman St COTG Dyckman St & Broadway (A train)	Wednesdays	6:30am-11:30am	N/A	N/A	N/A
Closed	Manhattan	Fort Washington Greenmarket 168th St & Ft. Washington Ave	Tuesdays  Closed for the season	8am-3pm	N/A	N/A	N/A
Closed	Manhattan	Roosevelt Island Farmers Market Winter: Under the Helix, Main Street & Roosevelt Island Bridge  Summer: Hope Church, Main St	Saturdays	9am-1:30pm	N/A	N/A	N/A
Closed	Manhattan	Lenox Hill Fresh Food Box 1st Ave b/t 70th St & 71st St	Tuesdays	3:30pm-6:30pm	N/A	N/A	N/A
Closed	Manhattan	Tucker Square Greenmarket 66th St at Columbus Ave	Saturdays Thursdays	8am-1pm 8am-3:30pm	N/A	N/A	N/A
Closed	Manhattan	Uptown Grand Central Fresh Food Box 125th Street at Park Ave	Wednesdays	3pm-7pm	N/A	N/A	N/A
Closed	Queens	Astoria - Broadway COTG Broadway & 31st St (N/W Trains)	Fridays Starting Dec 13, 2019	7:30am-10:30am	N/A	N/A	N/A
Closed	Queens	Briarwood COTG Queens Blvd & Main St (North Side)	Tuesdays	7:45am-10:45am	N/A	N/A	N/A
Closed	Queens	Corona Greenmarket Roosevelt Ave at 103rd St	Fridays Closed for the season	8am-3pm	N/A	N/A	N/A
Closed	Queens	Ditmars COTG 31st St b/t 23rd Ave & Ditmars Blvd (N/W Trains)	Fridays Starting, Dec 13, 2019	8am-11am	N/A	N/A	N/A
Closed	Queens	Elmhurst COTG Broadway b/t 51st Ave & Justice Ave	Tuesdays	7am-10am	N/A	N/A	N/A
Closed	Queens	Forest Hills Greenmarket South side of Queens Blvd & 70th Ave	Sundays	8am-2pm	N/A	N/A	N/A
Closed	Queens	Kew Gardens COTG Kew Gardens Rd & 81st Ave	Tuesdays	7:30am-10:30am	N/A	N/A	N/A
Closed	Queens	Rego Park COTG Queens Blvd & 63rd Dr (SE Corner)	Tuesdays	7:15am-10:15am	N/A	N/A	N/A
Closed	Queens	Sunnyside Greenmarket Skillman Ave b/t 42nd & 43rd St	Saturdays	8am-2pm	N/A	N/A	N/A
Closed	Staten Island	St. George Greenmarket St. Marks & Hyatt St	Saturdays	8am-1pm	N/A	N/A	N/A
Closed	Staten Island	Staten Island Mall Greenmarket Marsh Ave & Ring Road (Parking Lot)	Saturdays Closed for the season	8am-1pm	N/A	N/A	N/A

Key:
DSNY = NYC Department of Sanitation
LESEC = Lower East Side Ecology Center
QBG = NYC Compost Project hosted by Queens Botanical Garden

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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 composted locally in partnership with NYC Compost Project host sites and other community partners, including Big Reuse, Earth Matter, Lower East Side Ecology Center, and Queens Botanical Garden.

What can I compost?

• 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, insect-infested plants, plastics, twist ties, rubber bands, or receipts.

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.

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 can I learn more about organics recycling in NYC?
Visit www.nyc.gov/organics to find workshops, guides for indoor and outdoor composting, a listing of community-based drop-off sites and to learn more about DSNY residential Organics Collection Program.

How has participation in the GrowNYC Compost Program changed over time?

The GrowNYC & DSNY Food Scrap Compost Program is a partnership between the City of New York, the NYC Department of Sanitation, GrowNYC, and community partners.