QUESTION
How will New Yorkers be educated on mandatory organic waste separation by October with DSNY's budget cuts?
1:07:15
·
94 sec
DSNY plans to use the simplicity of its new curbside composting program to facilitate its own outreach, alongside successful strategies previously employed.
- The new composting program is designed to be the largest and easiest, enhancing self-promotion through its simplicity.
- Residents are instructed to set out their organic waste weekly on their recycling day, using any bin, with no sign-up or complicated rules.
- Educational strategies that made a significant impact in Brooklyn and Queens include door knocking and direct mailers.
- DSNY intends to replicate these successful outreach efforts in the remaining boroughs.
Shaun Abreu
1:07:15
Considering that many New York occurs are not yet in the habit of separating their organic waste from the rest of their waste and may not have the tools to do so.
1:07:25
And that DSNY's outreach and education budget has been cut significantly.
1:07:30
How does the agency plan to help New Yorkers adapt their behaviors by October, of this year when source separation becomes mandatory, I mean, we're only a few months away.
Joshua Goodman
1:07:42
Thank you for that question.
1:07:43
We agree that would be really not beneficial to launch a program that nobody knows about.
1:07:51
And as the the largest and easiest curbside composting program ever, one of the great things about it is that it does some of its own outreach.
1:07:58
Right?
1:07:58
The program is so much easier to use.
1:08:01
That basically the message is so much simpler than it's been in the past.
1:08:05
Set it out every week on your recycling day.
1:08:09
Use whatever bin you want.
1:08:12
Anything from your kitchen, anything from your garden, no sign up, no opt thin, no complicated rules, no restrictions, no special day, no limited hours.
1:08:22
Right?
1:08:22
It's so much easier to use, and that helps with the messaging and outreach.
1:08:26
In Brooklyn and Queens, we knocked every door of the 1 to 9 unit buildings, and we sent mailers, and we found that those 2 interventions when we track participation over time, when we look at people engaging with our content, we can see that those are the two things that really made a difference.
1:08:45
Certainly intend to to do both of those things in the 3 remaining boroughs.
