Composting Takes Root in Battery Park City

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Composting Takes Root
in Battery Park City
Working together to launch BPC’s first building-specific composting program are (left to right) Vanessa Laucella (Gateway Plaza management), Karlene Weise (Gateway Plaza Tenants Association), Alison Simko (resident), Ryan Torres (BPC Parks), Anne O’Neill (BPC Parks), David Wallace (BPC Parks), Christopher Magnaye (Gateway Plaza management), Bruno Pomponio (BPC Parks), Sarah Smedley (resident and BPC Parks) and BJ Jones (BPCA president). That’s a green compost bin in the background.
In a 2017 study of residential waste by the NYC Department of Sanitation, 21% of garbage was food scraps. Not only does food waste take up unnecessary space in landfill, it releases gas, which is detrimental to the environment.
If food waste is composted, the environment benefits. As The New York Times put it in this article, “The less the world wastes, the easier it will be to meet the food needs of the global population in coming years. Second, cutting back on waste could go a long way to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.”
Thanks to the Battery Park City Authority, Battery Park City has always been at the forefront of green living, guided by BPCA’s pioneering green building guidelines and organic park maintenance. For the last couple years, there have been two community compost bins – one at BPC Parks headquarters on Battery Place and one on Chambers Street.
Now, with the encouragement of Gateway Plaza management and the support of the Battery Park City Authority, Gateway Plaza has established the neighborhood’s first building-specific composting program. In the program’s first month, 686 pounds of fruit and vegetable waste was diverted from landfill.

2 thoughts on “Composting Takes Root in Battery Park City”

  1. I fully applaud the combined efforts of BPC Parks and Gateway Plaza management to bring the ease of composting to the residents of Gateway Plaza. Each time I throw my raw fruit and vegetable scraps into the compost bin, I feel like I’m contributing to the health of the local community.
    To further entice people to partake, perhaps we can be shown what happens to the scraps after they’re picked up, and converted into nutrient-rich soil. For me, I’m very interested in seeing that process.
    Thanks!

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