RIOC has been working hard with our residents, our stakeholders and our elected officials to reduce waste and keep Roosevelt Island clean and healthy.
In addition to expanding green space near Lighthouse Park, providing the Green Map of free eco-friendly resources and the used-battery drop off now at the Public Safety Office, RIOC will continue to work with building managers, businesses, community groups, residents and Cornell Tech to improve smart sustainability practices islandwide.
Thanks to the efforts of Island resident Christine Delfico, food scraps are being transformed into healthy compost to amend the soil. One third of the NYC waste stream is organics which includes food scraps, grass clippings and autumn leaves and we can remove those from landfill. Plus food scraps in landfill are dangerous, emitting methane gas which is worse than carbon dioxide. Since 2015, Island residents have actively diverted over 100,000 pounds of Food Scrap Waste from all the island buildings by dropping them off at the Farmer’s Market every Saturday from 9:00 AM to 1:30 PM in the green bins at the market. During the week, residents are encouraged to collect food scraps (veggies, fruit, coffee grinds, egg shells, pasta, and even avocado pits) and put them in their freezer so they can drop them off on Saturday. All scraps are processed under the Queensboro Bridge, less than one truck mile away, and once a year compost is given away to the community.
Roosevelt Island is fortunate to have this free resource and the food scrap drop off site supported by the Department of Sanitation and hosted by GrowNYC. Please be on the look out for more free events in the months leading up to Earth Day!