In an effort to encourage greater composting among New Yorkers, the city is set to permit residents to place their Yard Waste in clear Plastic bags at the curb. However, this move has raised concerns among certain environmental advocates who believe it undermines the program’s underlying principles.

This alteration coincides with the Sanitation Department’s implementation of a new regulation mandating that all city inhabitants segregate their leaves and twigs from their regular trash. Formerly, yard waste was only permitted in paper bags or bins.

During a recent public hearing regarding the rule change, Christine Datz-Romero from the LES Ecology Center recommended that compost should solely be allowed in paper bags or bins, in order to mitigate the adverse effects of plastic production and pollution. She emphasized the importance of even minor efforts to address these issues.

Rhonda Keyser, a representative of the Brooklyn Solid Waste Advisory Board, urged the city to swiftly reduce or eliminate plastic bag usage within the program. Keyser emphasized the necessity of minimizing environmental and health consequences and suggested that the collection and processing of organic waste should prioritize both participation and environmental well-being.

Vincent Gragnani, a spokesperson for the Sanitation Department, explained that the decision to permit plastic bags for yard waste aims to facilitate residents’ engagement in the composting program. Gragnani clarified that while food waste must be securely contained to prevent rodent access, residents exclusively disposing of yard waste are permitted to use bags, aligning with practices observed in other major cities like San Francisco and Toronto.

The mandatory composting mandate has already been enforced in Queens, with plans for Brooklyn’s implementation later this year and subsequent expansion to the remaining boroughs next year. The plastic bag policy is slated to take effect immediately, according to the Sanitation Department.

Eric Goldstein of the Natural Resources Defense Council acknowledged that plastic bags pose challenges in the composting process, as they necessitate separation from organic material and can cause mechanical entanglements due to their flimsy nature. Nonetheless, he recognized the pragmatic need for certain compromises by the Sanitation Department given the scope of the city’s compulsory composting initiative.

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