By Carla Zanoni
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — Ecofriendly Manhattan residents rejoice.
Starting March 5, recycling household scraps will be three times easier with the introduction of new composting bins at Greenmarkets in Inwood, Greenwich Village and TriBeCa.
Previously limited to the Union Square Greenmarket in Manhattan, the temporary pilot program now hopes to make composting more accessible to uptown and downtown residents.
According to GrowNYC, the nonprofit group that oversees the Greenmarkets, "shoppers can drop off fruit and vegetable scraps to be transported to a compost facility where they will become a fertile soil amendment for local farming projects and other uses."
The pilot will run until June 30, 2011, when it will be evaluated for potential permanent adoption at the markets.
The compost bins will be made available at the Saturday Greenmarkets at Inwood on Isham Street, Abingdon Square on Hudson and Eight Avenue, between West 12th & Bethune streets, and TriBeCa on Greenwich Street, between Chambers and Duane streets.
Washington Heights resident Haley Christeanson said she was excited to begin composting at the Inwood Greenmarket in March, even if it meant lugging her decomposing kitchen scraps on the bus a few blocks uptown.
"It’ll be worth it if the program is a success and more Greenmarkets offer the service," she said.
For guidelines on how to compost and what materials are acceptable, visit the GrowNYC website for details.
