Zero Waste New York City Guide
Updated January 2026
You need tools and resources on your zero waste journey. Whether it’s a local zero waste program or restaurants specializing in the circular economy, here we have gathered our recommendations for the city of New York. Do you have a recommendation? Let us know!
Zero-waste Programs
There are opportunities to get involved with your community with these zero waste programs.
Green Bronx Machine
Green Bronx Machine turns classrooms into gardens. Its school-based programs teach kids to grow, cook and eat their own vegetables, building healthier communities and local food systems across the South Bronx and beyond.
GreenFeen OrganiX
This Bronx worker cooperative turns food scraps into compost and renewable energy, and uses Hip Hop and storytelling to teach sustainability. Join a volunteer workday, book a school tour or catch its team tabling at community events.
Repair Cafe NYC & Fixers’ Collective
Don’t toss it, fix it. At these free, volunteer-run events, you bring a broken item and fixers help you repair it yourself. Lamps, fans, ceramics, clothing and small furniture are all welcome. Check the Brooklyn Public Library events calendar for upcoming dates, or sign up to share your own repair skills.
NYC Community Compost Network
Want to get your hands dirty? This network connects the city’s community compost sites, many of which welcome volunteers. It’s a good starting point for finding a site near you.
Zero-waste Grocery Stores
Composting programs? Check. Sourcing food sustainably? Check. Find zero waste grocery stores near you.
Earth & Me
Queens’ first zero-waste shop, with a refill station for household and personal care products and handmade goods from local makers. Earth & Me also offers zero-waste delivery across Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens and collects clothing donations for reuse.
Precycle
NYC’s first package free grocery store who works with local farmers and distributors on a one-on-one basis. Customers know where their food originates. Precycle now operates in Prospect Heights at 593 Vanderbilt Ave, where it’s described as a package-free grocery store selling local organic produce, bulk food and sustainable household products. Check it out!
A Sustainable Village
This Greenwich Village refill shop stocks hand soap, dish soap, laundry detergent and other household essentials. Refill in store or order online, and ask about its programs for local businesses.
GrowNYC Greenmarkets
Not a store, but one of the easiest ways to shop with less packaging is one of 45 GrowNYC‘s marketss. With 45 markets across all five boroughs, you can buy local produce loose and bring your own bags.
Low-Waste Dining
Truly unique eateries, we’ve rounded up our favorite low-waste restaurants here.
Rhodora
Rhodora is a natural wine bar in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, and one of the city’s longest-running zero-waste restaurants. Everything it uses is recycled, upcycled or composted, nothing goes to landfill, and single-use plastic isn’t allowed. The wines come from small farms, and the snacks are local.
Purslane
Planning an event? Purslane, the catering company behind Rhodora, runs zero-waste catering for weddings, offices and parties. Its team handles composting and recycling on-site, so nothing from your event ends up in a landfill.
Make Food Not Waste Restaurant Week
Every fall, some of the city’s most acclaimed restaurants take a zero-waste pledge for Make Food Not Waste Restaurant Week, organized by the food recycling company Mill. Each restaurant serves special dishes and cocktails that turn scraps like carrot tops and leftover leeks into the star of the plate. Check Mill’s website every summer for the next lineup.
Help Create a More Sustainable NYC
GrowNYC
GrowNYC has helped New Yorkers cut waste for decades, and its focus today is getting the city composting. Working with the Department of Sanitation, its team runs free compost education for residential buildings and helps businesses and institutions reduce what they send to landfill. Building managers and residents can request support on GrowNYC’s website. Check its events calendar for workshops, and look for compost and clothing collection at select Greenmarkets.
Composting in NYC
More than a third of New York City’s residential trash is organic material that could be composted instead of sent to landfill. Composting it cuts methane emissions and turns food scraps into soil for local gardens and parks. Here’s how to compost in the city:
Curbside Composting
Established in 2024, composting is now required for every household in the city. Food scraps, food-soiled paper and yard waste must be kept separate from trash and recycling. Collection is free and happens weekly on your recycling day, in all five boroughs. Use a DSNY brown bin or any labeled bin with a secure lid. Meat, bones, dairy, cooked food, greasy pizza boxes and certified compostable products are all accepted. As of April 1, 2025, Property owners can be fined for not separating organics, so check your building’s setup. Find your collection day at nyc.gov/CurbsideComposting.
Food Scrap Drop-Off Sites
Prefer to drop off, or does your building not have bins yet? The city maintains an up-to-date map of food scrap drop-off locations across all five boroughs, including community-run sites. Find one near you at nyc.gov/dsny.
Domino Park
Domino Park in Williamsburg takes food scraps at its on-site composter every Thursday evening from 6 to 8 p.m. Drop off at the Fog Feature near South 3rd and River Street. The finished compost feeds the park’s own plantings, and some is donated to local groups that care for Williamsburg’s street trees. The park accepts fruit, vegetables, ground coffee and bread. It doesn’t accept fish, meat, citrus, compostable cutlery, sauces or oils, so keep those for your curbside bin.
Lower East Side Ecology Center
As the longest-running community compost program in New York City, the LES Ecology Center has led the way in providing New Yorkers with free food scrap drop-off opportunities since 1990. The LES Ecology Center runs some of the city’s longest-standing drop-offs, including its original Union Square Greenmarket site, operating since 1994, and the Tompkins Square Greenmarket. Look for the grey barrels at the edge of the market. Drop-offs are for household food scraps only.
