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Urban Composting
"Composting for a greener and cleaner Brooklyn"
The Brooklyn Compost Project is part of the NYC Compost Project and promotes composting in Brooklyn neighborhoods, community gardens, institutions, and businesses. The NYC Compost Project, funded and managed through the NYC Department of Sanitation's Bureau of Waste Prevention, Reuse and Recycling, was created in 1993.
The Brooklyn Compost Project hosts a home composting demonstration site and a composting telephone helpline available everyday. It also offers a variety of compost-related workshops. Current information and services include the following:
Composting Helpline
718-623-7290
compost@bbg.org
Composting Classes
Preregistration is required for all composting classes; call 718-623-7220. Workshop fees will be collected in class.
Composting in the City
Leaves, kitchen scraps, garden trimmings, and weeds can all become garden gold through composting. Making dark, rich, crumbly compost doesn't take much time, work, or space. This class covers the essentials: what the composting process is, how to compost even in small city yards, how to use the finished compost, how to avoid and solve problems, and which equipment and tools are helpful. Workshop fee: $5 (cash only)
Section A: Tuesday, September 29 | 6-8 p.m.
Section B: Tuesday, November 10 | 6-8 p.m.
Mulch, Leaves, and Cover Crops: How to Protect and Improve Your Soil
The key to beautiful, healthy plants is the soil in which they grow. In this workshop, learn the basics of soil structure, organic fertilizers, soil amendment secrets, the underworld critters that abound, and the importance of organic matter and composting for healthy soil. As a fall focus, we will discuss what to do with leaves, the benefits of mulching, and which cover crops will protect and improve your garden's soil. Workshop fee: $5 (cash only)
Wednesday, October 14 | 6-8 p.m.
Composting Indoors: Worm Bin Basics
Worms will eat your kitchen scraps and make them into compost for your indoor and outdoor plants. As they do in the soil outside, worms indoors in a container will turn food scraps into nutrient-rich worm castings. You will learn all about vermicomposting, or composting with worms, including how to make a home for these hungry red wiggler worms and how to maintain the worm bin. Workshop fee: $5 (cash only)
Tuesday, November 24 | 6-8 p.m.
Teacher Workshop: Worm Composting in the Classroom
Working with worms in the classroom offers a great hands-on way to teach ecology, recycling, and gardening. Learn how to set up a worm bin, feed worms with food scraps, and maintain the system successfully. Activities, curriculum ideas, and ways to incorporate worm composting into science, math, and language arts for students of all ages will be introduced. Workshop fee: $5 (cash only)
Tuesday, October 27 | 6-9 p.m.
The Teacher Workshop may also be held at your Brooklyn school for a group of ten or more teachers for a $25 workshop fee; call the
Composting Guide
A complete guide to turning your kitchen scraps and garden clippings into a rich, nutritious soil conditioner.
Home Composting Exhibit
Come see how to compost at BBG's home composting exhibit near the Cranford Rose Garden. The display includes a variety of compost bins, different stages of decomposition, and signs in both English and Spanish to explain the process.
Handbook: Easy Compost
This BBG handbook, written by composting experts from across the country, simplifies this natural process while shattering some long-held myths. Includes composting tips for all regions and small spaces, as well as a buyer's guide to equipment. Read excerpts and buy it online.
Worm Suppliers
NYC Department of Sanitation offers a list of suppliers that sell worms for indoor composting, as well as worm bins and other vermiculture gear.
The New York City Compost Project
NYC Department of Sanitation composting programs.
Other Compost Websites
For more information on composting.