Smart Composting Bins Appear in Prospect Heights, Delighting Neighbors

PROSPECT HEIGHTS, BROOKLYN — Reinforcements have arrived in the war on rats — and for once, it's not for the unwashed rodent horde.

Seven Smart Composting Bins appeared in Prospect Heights this morning, and neighbors were welcoming the apparition of public curbside 24/7 organic waste drop off with open arms.

One neighbor's social media reaction: "AAAA!!"

Prospect Heights resident Steve Flack said he's been composting for a year, and was disappointed when the city pulled funding from expanding curbside composting last year, forcing him — and his composting neighbors — to carry two or three heavy six-liter bags of food waste to the farmer's market every week.

Sometimes those bags break, making a huge mess, Flack said.

Just hours after the arrival of the convenient composting bins, neighbors have told him they're joining the composting crusade.

"Hopefully these permanent compost bins will lead more people to make composting part of their routine, and will help remove food waste from our curbside garbage, which has been a main food source for our rat problem," Flack said.

Jesse Hendrich, one of the heralded rodent-psychoanalysts of Sterling Place and a member of his Council district's Rat Task Force, said the bins are at least partly a result of their anti-rat advocacy.

Experts, and Hendrich, frequently say that the only way to change rodent populations is to change the conditions — namely through food.

"Universal curbside compost pick up and containerized drop off bins have both been a high priorities for Crystal Hudson’s D35 Rat Task Force," he said. "Separating food waste out and not putting it in bags on the street is essential in cutting off a major food source for rats — and if we reduce or eliminate the food source, we will reduce their population."

"As a rat task force member and a resident of Prospect Heights, I am thrilled to see advocacy turn into reality!" Hendrich added.

One Prospect Heights resident said that the bins were "one of the most exciting developments in our neighborhood’s sustainability efforts," since the weekly Grow NYC composting stand near the 7th Avenue B/Q stop on Flatbush, said writer and editor Courtney Kassel.

"Allowing people to drop off on their own time will make composting more accessible and (hopefully!) more widely practiced," she said. "I sincerely hope the bins stick around!"

Council Member Crystal Hudson said that she too was "excited" to see the bins arrive.

"This is something our community wanted, and I’m pleased to know the Department of Sanitation heard our Office’s requests to get the compost program expanded into Prospect Heights where there has been no curbside compost pick-up," Hudson told Patch.

The Council member also said she wants to get DSNY to expand the bins to the rest of her district, which includes Clinton Hill, Crown Heights and Fort Greene in addition to Prospect Heights and parts of Bed-Stuy.

A DSNY spokesperson confirmed the installation of the Smart Composting Bins in Brooklyn after the first wave hit Bed-Stuy earlier this month.

"As promised in August, we are in the process of installing Smart Composting Bins citywide," the official said.

Prospect Height's seven bins are located on Vanderbilt Avenue at Sterling Place, Prospect Place and Dean Street.

Underhill Avenue has two bins at Bergen Street and Eastern Parkway.

Another is at Washington Avenue and St. Johns Place, while a final bin is just a half-block into Crown Heights at St. Marks and Grand Avenues.

The bins look like traditional "Big Belly" solar trash compactors, but are clad in a distinct DSNY orange and require the use of a smartphone to open.

NYC Compost, the free app needed to operate the bins, is available for Android and iOS.

A list of what items can be composted, typically all organic food and plant waste, can be found on the side of the bin as well as on the NYC Compost app.

Mayor Eric Adams and Sanitation Commissioner Jessica Tisch have long held that, in addition to being a win for the environment, composting would play a central role in the city's "war on rats," a strategy that most experts agree would significantly impact rodent populations.

By removing food scraps from the main waste stream, composting greatly reduces the amount of food available for rodents to munch on.

Back in August, Adams and Tisch announced a plan to roll out the Smart Composting Bins throughout the five boroughs, stating that they had already installed 250 bins across the city since the start of 2022 — higher than the previous goal of 100 bins — and announced the installation of 250 more.

"Mayor Adams tasked us with developing a new program that would be effective, affordable, and equitable," said Tisch back in August. "We looked at what had worked in the past, as well as what hadn't, and developed a smart, innovative solution that is going to be easier for the people of New York City, harder for rats, and better for the planet."