UES Gets 22 Smart Composting Bins, Admiration From Neighbors

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Upper East Siders were ebullient over the latest opening in the neighborhood.

"FINALLY," said one on social media.

"So excited," "LOVE this!" and "OMG this is so awesome!!!"said others.

The excitement is over the opening of a new 24/7 front in the war on rats — and against trash: street side public Smart Composting Bins have finally arrived in the neighborhood.

All over the city, the Smart Composting bins have been appearing on sidewalks, giving residents convenience and ample opportunity to remove organic waste — food scraps and other items — from the main trash waste stream.

That not only has environmental benefits in fighting climate change, but it also helps reduce the amount of food available for rodents to munch on, which experts say is the only real way to manage rat populations in an urban environment.

"These state-of-the-art bins, made possible through collaboration with the Department of Sanitation, offer accessible and convenient composting opportunities, ensuring that organic waste becomes a valuable resource for our city," said Council Member Julie Menin. "Together, we are creating a cleaner environment and a brighter future for all."

Menin's office said that earlier this month, the Upper East Side council member asked the City for an earlier delivery of the bins after she was lobbied by P.S. 183’s Girl Scout Troop 3138 and students from The Town School who asked for more recycling and composting opportunities in the neighborhood.

Just two weeks after Menin penned a letter to DSNY Commissioner Jessica Tisch asking for Smart Composting Bins earlier this month, installation was underway.

“New Yorkers want to do the right thing – they want to get the rat food out of the black bags and out of the landfills – you just have to make it easy," said Tisch, who has been pushing a major installation of these bins citywide.

The 22 Upper East Side bins, in Council Districts 4 and 5, are part of the 150 currently being installed in Manhattan below 96th Street, which will bring the total number of curbside bins citywide to 400.

Previously the neighborhood only had a small handful of composting sites, each only open for just a few hours per week.

Since Manhattan is the last borough slated for curbside-composting service in October 2024, the bins will serve as a crucial diversion point in the city's war against rats.

In Brooklyn's Prospect Heights, the bins became so popular, that they were frequently filled to the brim with compost and not emptied frequently enough, leaving enthusiastic composters distraught.

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 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."

Here is a full list of the bins available in Menin's Council District 5:

• Southwest corner of 2nd Avenue and 86th Street
• Northwest corner of 2nd Avenue and 82nd Street
• Northeast corner of 1st Avenue and 91st Street
• Southeast corner of 2nd Avenue and 72nd Street
• Northeast corner of East 66th Street and 1st Avenue
• Southwest corner of 83rd Street and East End Avenue
• Northwest corner of 1st Avenue and 88th Street
• Northwest corner of 2nd Avenue and 95th Street
• Northwest corner of 3rd Avenue and East 95th Street
• Southeast corner of East 92nd Street and 2nd Avenue
• Northeast corner of 1st Avenue and East 76th Street
• Southeast corner of 79th Street and York Avenue
• Southwest corner of 3rd Avenue and East 88th Street
• Northeast corner of 2nd Avenue and 76th Street

For more information, click here for DSNY's composting page.