composting Archives - State of the Planet

bags of compost from the nyc department of sanitation

Opinion: Composting Should Be Mandatory in New York City

Composting is good for the planet, and it can be profitable. New Yorkers should be required to separate compostable materials along with recycling.

by Katherine Kam |December 2, 2021
trash in a trashcan

Killing ‘Evil’ Trash During This Year’s Durga Puja Celebrations

October is a time for Indian festivities starting with Durga Puja. This year our Durga celebration also included a green mission.

by Radhika Iyengar, Apresh Deva, Kumkum Srivastav and Yogita Ahire |October 20, 2021
fighting food waste

Fighting Food Waste by Finding Ways to Use the Useless

Even though some food is never eaten, the carbon emissions to grow it still end up in the atmosphere. Reducing waste is crucial to fighting climate change.

by |May 7, 2019

What To Do with NYC’s 33 Million Pounds of Daily Waste

Typically in New York City, each person generates four pounds of waste every day. This means over eight million people generating about 33 million pounds of waste, every day. Think of the impact that composting and recycling could have on reducing even just half of this waste. Educating people on these issues is the mission of the Lower East Side Ecology Center, a non-profit organization that works toward a more sustainable New York City.

by |February 21, 2014

Map: Where Are the Trashiest New Yorkers?

No, not that kind of trashy – we’re talking here about what New York City neighborhoods produce the most municipal solid waste per person.

by |February 6, 2014
The “Rocket,” a food composter in Ruggles Hall at Columbia, is the result of three years of student efforts to start recycling food waste. Photo: Melissa von Mayrhauser

Composter Puts College Food Waste in Its Place

Columbia has welcomed a composting machine to campus, a first at a New York City university. Accepting food scraps, such as banana peels, coffee grounds and egg shells, the composter will provide a way to recycle the urban campus’s food waste while also serving as an educational tool.

by |April 10, 2012