Composting
An Ecolo-Bag is used in the St. Vartan Park public garden on December 6, 2024
Lower East Side Ecology Center station at St. Vartan Park Earth Day on April 26, 2025
Food-scrap composting bins stand in St.Vartan Park on December 2, 2023
Ecolo-Bag Usage
In cooperation with NYC Parks, St. Vartan Park Conservancy in 2024 started Ecolo-Bag usage for collection of leaves for composting. The bags are fully biodegradable and recyclable.
Smart Composting Bin
A public Smart Composting Bin is available near St. Vartan Park, across the street from the park garden on the northeast corner of First Avenue and East 35th Street.
Lower East Side Ecology Center
Lower East Side Ecology Center has hosted various activities at the annual St. Vartan Park Earth Day.
A space inside St. Vartan Park’s northeast entrance on First Avenue has served as an active public food-scrap drop-off composting site from May 2021 to its scheduled closure on August 15, 2025. As residents now have curbside collection in buildings and with the public Smart Composting Bin near the park, the use of the green park bins has dropped from a peak of more than 4,000 pounds of food scraps per month to 310 pounds in June 2025.
. Provided by the NYC Compost Project program and Lower East Side Ecology Center and rolled out with leadership from Alliance for Kips Bay and the P.S. 281 PTA, the food-scrap service has led to educating and inspiring many New Yorkers about the importance of composting their food scraps.
