International Compost Awareness Week Kicks Off in the Big Apple

Emma Yates, WeCare Denali, Beth Simone, CCREF, and Bridget Anderson, New York City Sanitation Department

The New York City Sanitation Department (DSNY) and WeCare Organics joined the Composting Council Research and Education Foundation (CCREF) for the national kickoff of International Compost Awareness Week (ICAW) in Bay Ridge Brooklyn, N.Y.

The location was ideal because CCREF was (and ICAW became) part of the brand-new local DSNY public outreach campaign “Make Compost, Not Trash." WeCare Organics/Denali Water, a longtime ICAW sponsor that also provides compost service to parts of New York City and the New York compost market, was also there to celebrate the kickoff.

Bridget Anderson, deputy commissioner of recycling and sustainability, spoke about the importance of organics recycling and the benefits of compost. She discussed New York City’s plans to expand the number of people using their brown bins for food waste and how the local Brooklyn community could participate. Emma Yates of WeCare Denali talked about the work they do in the region. Beth Simone, development director and project manager for the national ICAW celebration, spoke to the group about the goals of ICAW and the increasing number of ways citizens, companies and municipalities can take part.