Reduce and reuse. . . Reuse!
A politician from Queens is coming up with inventive ways to utilize the many composting buckets that the city is distributing to residents.
“It’s a more appealing way to collect food scraps than leaving this unattractive, unpleasant bucket on the counter,” she remarked after the city delivered 150 plastic countertop buckets to her office.
Councillor Vickie Paladino expressed that these buckets have numerous applications because, let’s be honest, most people won’t actually use them for composting. “If you don’t want to keep a bucket of decaying food on your countertop, consider using it as a beach feature or even as a mini cooler for beverages,” she suggested.
Some folks are gathering food waste in the kitchen before placing it in these new bins designated for curbside pickup.
“If people prefer to use them as intended, that’s fine,” Paladino shared with the Post. “But these little composting bins can serve 101 different purposes.”
“My kids would enjoy using this in the playground sprinklers!” one mother humorously commented on X.
“We could really use some in the classroom for organizing supplies,” a teacher chimed in.
Paladino mentioned plans to utilize the buckets for gardening and barbecue tools this summer, as she sees locals lining up to voice their opinions.
One user on X noted that the inexpensive buckets seemed to be sourced from a Chinese e-commerce site.
However, the buckets come from Orbis Company, which executed a $9.7 million contract to provide waste bins according to the Department of Health’s composting site.
The identical Orbis Bins were reportedly purchased from Home Depot and Amazon for approximately $19 each, leading to a total estimated cost of $145,350 for the 150 buckets distributed across the 51 council offices.
The composting initiative, aimed at curbing waste and greenhouse gas emissions, has faced backlash as critics label it an expensive endeavor compared to traditional recycling methods.
In the early stages, starting from April 1, the DSNY imposed fines totaling $2,462, beginning at $25 each, which generated at least $61,550.
This initiative has sparked considerable public frustration and misunderstandings, prompting a suspension of the fines until next year.
Paladino and her colleagues in the common sense caucus have asserted that participation should be optional, proposing legislation to exclude organic waste from the city’s recyclables list.
“There are numerous pressing issues that require funding and attention in the city. We should allocate resources towards more important concerns than just waste disposal,” Paladino stated.
Last year, the council allocated over $6.25 million in discretionary funds for community composting, but this funding is under threat from budget cuts, seeking an additional $7 million to keep the program afloat for 2026.
The proposed funding aims to stabilize operations, enhance outreach, and broaden community capacity, as noted in a release from the council regarding the Department of Health’s urban funding needs.
