Local Organics Loop
What: Urban Design (Concept)
Date: June 2023
Location: New York City
For: Urban Design Forum Forefront (New Loops)
In collaboration with: Miryam Shemwell, Rafael Bergés, Fernando Canteli de Castro, Marisa Prefer, Alexandra Burkhardt
By the end of 2024, residential organics separation will be mandated throughout NYC. Brown bins will be set out on the curb once or twice a week, smart bins will be installed at street corners with 24/7 bluetooth access, and the materials will be collected in DSNY’s trucks: mostly to be processed through anaerobic digestion, for energy production.
While the City’s initiatives succeed in expanding access and capacity, and diverting organic waste from landfill, they also increase truck traffic, limit public participation, and miss an essential opportunity to produce compost: a valuable resource that can be reused locally. Furthermore, these initiatives discount the robust existing network and knowledge of the city’s community composters.
Historically, organics collections and processing in NYC has been powered by the people. New Yorkers compost within their neighborhoods: at community farms, compost sites, and community gardens. In contrast to the latest city-wide initiatives, community composting is about creating resources locally and for local use. e
For NYC to reach 100% organics diversion in a way that is equitable and sustainable, while maximizing the benefit to New Yorkers, these existing local networks need to be fully integrated into the City’s plan. There is an historic opportunity to redirect investment towards a new infrastructure that prioritizes technology and circularity in the public space, to lower emissions and engage all New Yorkers in composting.re
Local Organics Loop envisions a circular and equitable system for managing organics at the neighborhood-scale, one that redefines the relationships between our streets and organics. Critically, the Loop connects the city-wide system with the existing network of local composters, recognizing that both are essential to a robust, long-term organics management solution.
While leveraging existing networks and infrastructure, the loop is made possible by a new scale of infrastructure: The Hub. Strategically located within the public realm (for example, reclaiming parking spaces), these Hubs would support the city’s curbside organics service and zero waste goals, establishing consolidated drop-off, pre-processing and pick-up sites that connect to existing networks of organics producers, collectors, haulers, and processors.
