The city Department of Sanitation, faced with numerous difficulties, has shelved plans to expand its curbside organics recycling program. The program, which currently serves 3.5 million residents, gives residents separate bags to leave food scraps and yard waste curbside, according to Gothamist.
However, only about 3 percent of all organic waste produced by residents in the program is getting recycled, the Sanitation Department’s own statistics reveal. The other 97 percent ends up in landfills alongside all other trash, Gothamist reports. By comparison, New York City residents recycle 51 percent of their paper, metal, glass and plastic. Among the Brooklyn neighborhoods where the program is available are Cobble Hill, Park Slope, Borough Park and Flatbush.
