There are people in Brooklyn making compost. There are people in Fort Greene, Brooklyn making compost. There are people at the Fort Greene Farmers Market in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, making compost. Every Saturday.
Since October 2005, a group of neighbors and CENYC Greenmarket assistants have been running a non-profit compost delivery system that has utilized local community gardens and the prodigious amounts of food scraps that people grow in their homes each week. A specialized tricycle, usually ridden by Fort Greene resident Charlie Bayrer, has made round trips from participating gardens; handing out bags full of potato peels, coffee grounds, and lots of egg shells.
You have not only created rich soil in abundance. “Composting has dramatically reduced the amount of garbage I send to the landfill each week.” says Rebecca Ditsch, a compost from Fort Greene. For many who use their freezer as a way to store their weekly collection, it also greatly reduces the smell of their household garbage. This storage technique can be seen on a hot summer morning: containers of organic matter vaporize as their lids are opened and closed.
Today, the Fort Greene Compost Project collects more than 1,300 pounds per week. About 30 black garbage bags. Some orchards have had to reduce their consumption to once a month. Earlier this spring, Added Value’s Red Hook Farm agreed to take some of the loading and their composting system was re-evaluated in the process. Charlie, the beating heart of this operation (it is he who places the containers, rides the tricycle and supplies garbage bags) composed the construction of wooden and wire boxes to contain piles of food waste to enrich himself with fertilizers. the south brooklyn lot. Together with RICE, a New York-based restaurant chain that composts a large portion of its own leftovers, the Fort Greene Compost Project contributes to the once seasonally maintained area. Generally, the farm reserves its composting activity for the winter. However, with Ft. Greene Greenmarket year-round and his devoted composters, there may be good reason to let Charlie continue his wheelbarrow in the snowflakes.
Until now, this completely voluntary management service has existed in a shoelace. Mainly Charlie’s, who until recently had been renting U-Haul trucks out of his own pocket to bring half his load to Red Hook twice a month (David Selig, owner of RICE, has graciously offered his pickup of vegetable oil to make travel; a springboard that emerges just when one feels that one is about to be stopped in the middle of a torrent). Other than that, there are still costs that come up, such as garbage bags and ultimately the idea that sustaining this growth project may require other methods. Whether it’s paying farmers to install compost transport with them upstate or to a site in the neighborhood that is specifically designated for composting. One is currently being considered. A suggested weekly donation of $ 1 ($ 2 for large household loads) has been enacted.
Right now, one may wonder “How can I help?” Volunteer on a Saturday to guard the donation table, convert the compost, or organize behind the scenes. Also remove the stickers from your fruit.
