Drop off compost at one of 10 sites in LIC, Astoria, Sunnyside, Jackson Heights or Floral Park

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    It’s easier than ever for Queens residents to green their routines, thanks to the increasing number of compost initiatives around the borough. Several libraries, Greenmarkets, community gardens, and other organizations have become drop-off sites for your kitchen scraps, so that your food waste doesn’t have to go into the landfill.

    If you’re ready to go green in 2013, here are the many locations you can bring food/plant scraps to be composted. Most of these drop-off sites are open year round, and more locations will be added soon.

    Long Island City

    LIC Community Garden – 49th Avenue, between Vernon Blvd and 5th Street (GMAP)
    Sundays, 10:00am-1:00pm

    Long Island City CSA, Hour Children – 36-49 11th Street (GMAP)
    January 19 and February 2, 10:00am-2:00pm

    Astoria

    Two Coves Community Garden – 11-01 30th Ave (GMAP)
    Wednesdays, 5:00-8:00pm

    Queens Library at Steinway – 21-45 31st Street (GMAP)
    Mondays through March 25 (EXCEPT January 21 and February 18), 8:00-10:00am

    Queens Library at Broadway – 40-20 Broadway (GMAP)
    Saturdays, 1:00pm-3:00pm

    Sunnyside

    Queens Library at Sunnyside – 43-06 Greenpoint Avenue (GMAP)
    Saturdays, 10:30am-12:00pm

    Sunnyside Community Garden – 50th Street and Barnett Avenue (GMAP)
    Saturdays, 9:00-11:00am
    Sundays, 3:00-5:00pm

    Sunnyside Greenmarket – Skillman Avenue, between 42nd and 43rd Streets (GMAP)
    (Open Saturday mornings in summer and fall only)

    Jackson Heights

    Jackson Heights Greenmarket – 34th Avenue, between 77th and 78th Streets (GMAP)
    Sundays, 9:00am-12:00pm

    Floral Park

    Queens County Farm Museum – 73-50 Little Neck Parkway (GMAP)
    Winter hours: Thursday-Sunday, 10:00-3:00 (Bring scraps to one of the three large black compost tumblers near the hanger, just north of the main field.)

    After you add your food scraps to the bin at one of these sites, organizations like BIG!Compost (formerly known as the Western Queens Compost Initiative), SunnyCompost and the Queens County Farm Museum do the hard work of managing the waste and helping it turn into rich soil that can be used for growing food, flowers and trees all over Queens. So make sure to thank your local composters for getting the scraps off your hands and using them for good in the neighborhood.

    Compost organizers also ask that you bring your food scraps in reusable containers so you don’t burden them with plastic bags or add to landfill waste in the process. For a list of what to compost and what not to compost, see BIG!Compost’s guide. And to avoid rotting smells and fruit flies in the kitchen, you can keep your compost contributions in the freezer for days or weeks until you’re ready to unload them.

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