With city-run composting on pause, private “microhaulers” are picking up the slack
Early on during the coronavirus pandemic, the New York City Department of Sanitation was forced to pare down its budget, putting the majority of its composting services on pause until at least summer of 2021. That means that tons of organic matter are getting diverted back into landfills, rather than repurposed for use on farms and community gardens. However, a few scrappy New Yorkers are taking the food waste dilemma into their own hands. They’re the new “microhaulers,” collecting organics from individual households for a small weekly fee, then transporting waste to intermediaries to deliver to nearby farms. For an extra $30, they’ll even deliver local produce to program participants, The New York Times reports. Trash, meet treasure.
