FAQs
Who is eligible to participate in the curbside food scraps collection program?
All Kingston residents including homeowners and renters who currently receive DPW Sanitation Services (trash collection). Addresses must be within the City of Kingston proper (not in other towns with 12401 mailing addresses).
I live in an apartment or multi-family home, can I participate/get a container?
Yes, as long as the City is currently providing trash collection services to your apartment complex you can register your specific address. If we see several units in one building have registered, we may not issue individual containers and may instead issue a building-wide rolling tote.
Can businesses or non-residential addresses participate? Can residents without City trash collection participate?
Not at this time. Future phases are in development.
Can I share my container with a neighbor or family member?
No, this container, like your city-issued trash and recycling containers, are for your household only.
What if I need more than one 5 gallon container for my curbside pick up? Is there a limit to how many containers I can sign up for?
Each registration will include the provision of one 5 gallon bucket per household. If additional containers are needed, please reach out to organics@kingston-ny.gov
Can more than one person in my household sign up?
We will issue one bucket per household, so only one person should register.
How do I update my contact information if it changes?
If your contact info changes, please send updates to organics@kingston-ny.gov(External link)
Is my container my property, to do with it what I choose?
No. Like the city-issued brown and blue totes, this bucket will be city property for your household use only for Kingston Organics.
Can I use my own bucket or container instead of the one provided?
No. Like trash and recycling services, only city-issued buckets are permitted
Can I use compostable bags? Can I use paper bags?
No. No bags of any type are accepted. Only food is accepted.
What day my bucket will my bucket be picked up?
Kingston Organics curbside will be collected the same day as your regular trash collection.
What should I do if I miss a pick-up day?
You can bring your food scraps to one of the drop off locations anytime.
What if my collection day falls on a holiday?
Just like garbage collection, if garbage is delayed a day, so is Kingston Organics
Will collection continue during inclement weather?
Kingston Organics will follow the garbage collection. If garbage collection is delayed, so will Kingston Organics.
What is allowed in the compost bucket?
Only food is permitted. Food can be raw, cold, warm, cooked, old, moldy, frozen; dairy, meat, bones, veggies, fruits, bread, coffee grinds, grains, meals, scraps, etc. All food is good.
What about pet food? Paper towels/tissues? Compostable cutlery?
No. Only food items are allowed.
Can I put liquids in the container?
Please try to minimize any large amounts of liquid.
Where do I put my bucket?
Place your bucket a few feet away from your trash and recycling totes, curbside.
Does the lid need to be on it? Should it be fully closed?
Yes, the lid should be snugly attached.
What do I do if my bucket is full before pick up and I have more food scraps?
If your bucket is full before collection, you can bring your excess food scraps to a Kingston Organics Drop off site.
What is not allowed in the compost bucket?
Anything but food. If non-food is found in the bucket, the bucket will be left behind at the curb, with the full contents in it.
What do I do if my bucket was rejected from pick up?
If your bucket was rejected, remove the non-food and put the bucket curbside the following week or bring it to a drop off site after removing the unacceptable item(s).
What if I don’t fill up the 5 gallon bucket before pick up? Do I need to put my bucket curbside every single week?
Buckets do not need to be full to be left curbside. You do not need to put your bucket out every week.
Is curbside collection seasonal?
No. Kingston Organics curbside collection, and drop off sites, are year round.
Can I stop participating in the program if I change my mind?
Yes. If you decide to leave the program, we will come and take back your city-issued bucket.
Can I pause my participation temporarily?
You can participate as often or as seldom as you’d like.
Can I switch from curbside pick up to dropping off at a different location if I prefer?
You are eligible to participate in both curbside and drop off, at the schedule of your choosing.
How do I keep smells and pests out of my curbside bucket?
It is important for you to keep your bucket as clean as possible between collections.
How do I clean my bucket? How often?
To maintain a healthy environment, we recommend cleaning out your bucket each time it is emptied.
What happens if my bucket is damaged, lost, stolen, or vandalized?
Please email organics@kingston-ny.gov for a replacement.
What should I do if my food scraps freeze in the bucket in winter?
If you find that your food scraps are freezing in the bucket, store your bucket in a warmer location.
Where do my food scraps go?
Kingston Organics, in the same manner as our city trash and recycling, are transported by Kingston Department of Public Works to the Ulster County Resource Recovery Agency on Flatbush Road in the Town of Ulster.
Our food scraps are processed on site at UCRRA using a regulated composting system, to create a rich compost that is then sold commercially.
Do I have access to receiving the completed compost?
You can purchase bagged and bulk compost from UCRRA. Check out ucrra.org for full details.
Is this service free or is there a cost?
This service is included in the Department of Public Work’s sanitation services, and there is no additional fee to participate.
How are my taxes affected by this program?
There will be no direct change in your taxes due to this program.
How does this program benefit the environment?
Currently, trash generated in the City of Kingston is trucked approximately 300+ miles to Seneca Meadows Landfill in Central New York. By source separating food scraps and pulling them out of the waste stream, the food scraps only travel 5 miles to Ulster County Resource Recovery Agency on Flatbush Road where they are processed into compost on site within just a few months and then sold locally as a soil amendment. With this process, we are able to eliminate the GHG emissions from trucking our waste to the landfill, free up space in the landfill, and recycle our waste into a usable product.
Additionally, to ensure we minimize our footprint of this new service, the City has received grant funding and purchased an all-electric garbage truck to collect the food scraps, further minimizing our carbon footprint