Empowering Communities through Composting
Meet Nando Rodriguez, a devoted supporter of community gardens and head of the environmental program at Brotherhood Sister Sol (BroSis). A Harlem-based non-profit focused on empowering Black and Latinx youth, BroSis is also serious about environmental justice. Last fall, they started backing the 1K Composting Systems campaign, dreamed up by Rodriguez, to bring 1,000 sites for processing compost to every borough.
Why Community Composting Matters
We pay for trucks to come in and take away food from restaurants. And we pay for landfills in different states because we don’t have enough of them [in New York]. So when I think about all of the different things we pay for to divert waste and it’s still not enough to get rid of all the food waste from New York City, it gets me thinking: we can’t just rely on this system. It has to be more.
Composting can help divert that food [waste] away from landfills, it can create green jobs. So when you talk about the value of gardens, you need to talk about the value of them in our communities.
The 1K Composting Systems NYC Campaign
The campaign is to bring 1,000 composting systems to every borough in New York City. The idea of this is that if there’s 1,000 composting systems in every borough, most likely people can go two or three blocks and find a location in their community where they’re processing food waste.
Is the Goal Doable?
It’s super doable. There are a lot of organizations and a lot of community gardens spread throughout the city. So the location part of this is easy. The locations are definitely our community gardens, our churches, our schools. You know, grassroots organizations that have the space already. And composting can even be done on rooftops, you can do composting on concrete. You can do composting on grass or dirt. So it’s possible to add [these composting sites]. You don’t really need a lot for it.
Current Progress and Funding
Definitely don’t have enough funding, and we just started. So last year, I was able to install about 12 to 13 composting sites. So it’s moving at a slow pace, but that’s okay. Right now, with the budget that [the City Council] was able to find to save our compost for the year we were able to get some funding to use to build 25 more sites in this coming six months. We’re also going for grants.
Conclusion
Brotherhood Sister Sol’s 1K Composting Systems campaign aims to bring 1,000 composting sites to every borough in New York City, empowering communities to take control of their environmental resilience. By creating green jobs and diverting food waste from landfills, this initiative has the potential to make a significant impact on the city’s environmental justice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Why is community composting important?
A: Community composting is important because it gives back the power to the community to continue to support environmental justice and environmental resilience.
Q: What is the 1K Composting Systems NYC campaign?
A: The campaign is to bring 1,000 composting systems to every borough in New York City.
Q: Is the goal doable?
A: Yes, it’s super doable. There are a lot of organizations and a lot of community gardens spread throughout the city.
Q: How close are you to achieving the goal?
A: We have installed about 12 to 13 composting sites so far, and we are working to build 25 more sites in the next six months.
Q: Do you have enough funding?
A: No, we don’t have enough funding, but we are working to secure grants and funding from the City Council to support our efforts.
