Myra's Kitchen Blog » Beautiful Compost

Since I live so close to Union Square, I feel an obligation to collect my kitchen scraps and bring them over to the compost bins that are there every day the greenmarket is open: Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. I keep my vegetable peelings in a separate garbage pail; as you can well imagine, with the amount of cooking that I do, the bag fills up rapidly. “Send it to the worms!” is what we say in this household when we pitch something to the compost pile. The heap can sometimes appear quite beautiful, arranged like a composed salad, or a collage.

The big pain is remembering to haul that bag over to the market at least once a week to prevent rotting; twice a week is even better. One would think this would not be difficult, considering I go to the greenmarket almost every day it’s there. Nonetheless, I have done my share of grumbling over this simple task; at times it feels like another dreary chore.

All that changed two months ago – the morning that I locked myself out of my home. I had just wheeled my cart with a full-to-capacity bag of scraps into the elevator. Just as the doors were closing, I realized that I had left my handbag inside. There I was — no phone, no keys, not even one penny. Luckily, my husband was home, but I needed to call him; I combed my mind to figure out what phone in the neighborhood I could borrow.

It seemed like a good idea to get rid of the bag of vegetable leavings first, so my first stop was at the greenmarket. On the way there, I remembered the compost lady. Of course she would certainly lend me her phone. I’m a regular, and she knows me well enough.

Aurelia (I didn’t know the compost lady’s name before then) was more than gracious, even though I did hijack her phone for a full twenty minutes before getting through to my husband. (Blame it on the shower.)

Interestingly, my attitude changed after that experience. I stopped grumbling, and now I almost even enjoy unloading my bag there. I invariably exchange a few amicable words with Aurelia; I am eternally grateful to her for helping me out of a pickle.

The folks from the Lower East Side Ecology Center used to pick up the juice bar pulp back in the 1990’s, when I was cooking at Angelika Kitchen. They no longer collect restaurant scraps, because they get so much good raw material from all of us individuals.

By the way, their potting soil is excellent. The Lower East Side Ecology Center is truly one of New York City’s gems.

Outstanding Renewal Enterprise, Inc. (The Lower East Side Ecology Center) was founded in 1987 as one of the first organizations to offer community-based recycling and composting programs in New York City. We started our programs by providing innovative recycling drop-off centers. Today, the Ecology Center offers free public compost collection and education, electronic waste recycling, stewardship of public open space, and environmental education. Our programs focus on offering opportunities for all New Yorkers to learn about environmental issues facing NYC and to take responsibility for solving those problems.

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