On the heels of the city's new hard plastic recycling initiative, today Mayor Bloomberg announced an expansion of the Sanitation's composting pilot program to more than 100 of the city's 8,000+ restaurants, including Chipotle, Pret-a-Manger, Momofuku, and Mario Batali-owned eateries. The overall goal is to divert 75% of solid waste from landfills by 2030, thereby reducing greenhouses gas emissions and make the planet a better, cleaner place for Republicans to deny the existence climate change.
According to a press release, restaurants account for 70% of commercial food waste (the city produces 20,000 tons of refuse every day). The participating restaurants have agreed to cut back on 50% of their food waste through composting and other strategies.
Additionally, the city has identified nine acres of underutilized city land that will be turned into 20 different public gardens. “We are proud of the fact that these sites will be managed by our GreenThumb program, the oldest and largest community garden program in the nation," Parks Commissioner Veronica White said in the release.
We've asked the Parks Department to provide the locations for the new gardening sites and when they'll be available for use, and will update if we get a response.
