Brooklyn Solid Waste Advisory Board

The Brooklyn Solid Waste Advisory Board (BkSWAB) is a volunteer citizens’ advisory board dedicated to helping our borough contribute to New York City's zero waste goals. Our monthly meetings are open to the public, and all are encouraged to join.

BkSWAB Updates

  • 2021 Solid Waste Management City Candidate Questionnaire: see the results of our questionnaire to candidates for Brooklyn City Council offices, Brooklyn Borough President, Mayor and Comptroller on our Resources page.

  • Check out our YouTube Channel!

  • Free Fridges are now mapped across the city - https://nycfridge.com/ !

  • BkSWAB's commitment to racial and environmental justice: We need to continue to break our silos and focus even more on the intersection of waste and environmental equity, justice and racism. We cannot solve environmental problems and climate change without addressing systemic racism. BkSWAB is committed to listening, reflecting, and discussing how we can be better allies to communities of color and how we can work to change the system where reform is long overdue. We welcome your suggestions and events to share, please email us.

  • COVID-19 Impact: See our resource page for some things you can do now to take action and reduce waste.

  • Food scrap drop off sites: The trusty #dropofftracker by @ahealthyblueprint remains the best resource for the variety of privately-run and volunteer-operated drop offs and #microhauling services, and details in the notes offer info about how each site operates. Find a list of these sites in the second tab of the spreadsheet at bit.ly/NYCdropofftracker, and also link to the map created by a @saveourcompost volunteer!

  • The NYC Department of Sanitation’s map came back online a few weeks ago, and it represents some but not all of the available drop offs. Important to note (and not clear from the map) that some of the sites represented on this map are City-funded, while others are volunteer-operated or asking for contributions to support their operations. Find this map at nyc.gov/dropfoodscraps, it will continue to be updated in the weeks to come.

  • GrowNYC’s Food Scrap Drop Off map is back online with a goldmine of City-funded drop offs (free!) across the boroughs. Check it out at grownyc.org/compost

  • Plastic Bag Ban enforcement goes into effect Monday, October 19 - more info here.

  • Advocacy: Support #SaveOurCompost campaign on social media.

  • Next Meeting: Monday, September 13, 2021, via Zoom (no meeting in August)

If you would like to be added to our email list to receive notifications of upcoming meetings and events, please email swab.brooklyn@gmail.com.

Calendar of Events

See below for the Brooklyn SWAB's monthly meeting, committee meetings, and other related waste-prevention events.

Want to submit an event to the BkSWAB calendar? Add the event to your own calendar and invite swab.brooklyn@gmail.com. Our Executive Committee will review and approve appropriate submissions.