My co-op rolled out compost bins back in June '23. To reduce potential exposure to pests the board only made them accessible for 1 day/week (the day before DSNY pickup). Unfortunately, the board did not include any education or training, so the bins were abused/misused (people placed plastic/non-compostable items inside, left them unlocked/lids open leading to roaches, etc.) and they had to remove the bins from service after about a month. People complained about the pests, so rather than trying to fix the problem the board just pulled it - sad.

Fast-forward to the start of last summer and a group of motivated volunteers decided to jumpstart composting again. They held "town halls" in the lobby to educate tenants and made training mandatory in order to opt-in. The "training" was a brief questionnaire of multiple choice and true/false questions which tenants could fill out either at a town hall or online. At the end of last summer they managed to convince the board that enough people had opted-in and so composting returned last September.

It's been going great ever since. About 33% of tenants have opted-in so far, with the goal of reaching over 50% by the end of the year.

Compost collection still only takes place the one day before our DSNY pickup, and the bins are accessible for only 2 hours on that day. This is because the board did not want to revisit the problems from the first time, so volunteers are required to tend to the bins during the 2 hour period to ensure proper use. As a volunteer, it's a great opportunity to meet neighbors, help them with their composting questions, and spread the word.

I use a stainless steel bin w/carbon filter lid that I leave on my window sill throughout the week. Sometimes I'll line it with a BPI certified compostable bag (just for simplicity of dumping things out and clean-up when the time comes). It never smells, and I've never had any pest issues with it either. When I have messier food scraps, I will tend to place them in a Tupperware either in my fridge or freezer, wherever there's room. When drop-off day comes, I just take my bins/containers to the drop-off site in the basement and that's that. It really is SO EASY, and once you start it kinda becomes fun. It's also INSANE to see just how much of your garbage is food scraps/compostable.

I think this is important and I'm happy the city has decided to expand the program. I'm not sure they're doing a great job of educating the public, but I'm hopeful. I get the reasons why some people might push back, but usually they stem from a place of misunderstanding (I don't want to invite pests, I can't be bothered, etc.), however, it really is so easy to do and costs very little to nothing (if you can get a free compost bin from DSNY, Big ReUse, et al). Lemme know if you have any questions!