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Read the press release here.

Staten Island Food Trash to be Composted by City

By Nicholas Rizzi | February 14, 2013 9:26am

STATEN ISLAND —  Staten Island's trash is to be turned into plant food.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg will announce at his final State of the City speech Thursday that the borough will host a pilot program to compost food waste picked up curbside.

It will then be used to fertilize green spaces in the city.

Residents will be given a third container to dispose of organic waste, which will be picked up with regular trash, a spokeswoman for the mayor said. There are currently no plans to punish people for not complying, the spokeswoman said.

Each year, the city sends around 1.2 million tons of food waste to landfills, which costs the city about $100 million, the mayor said.