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IMAGE:ERIK MARTIG
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Build It Green! NYC, is New York City’s only non-profit retail outlet for salvaged and surplus building materials. Our reuse centers have everything from panel doors to high end refrigerators, window shutters to reclaimed lumber, kitchen cabinet sets to salvaged flooring. Our mission is to keep these materials out of the landfill, while offering deep discounts on their resale. We are working towards reducing the amount of unnecessary construction and demolition (C&D) waste clogging our landfills, which contributes to pollution, GHG emissions, climate change and global warming.
BIG!NYC Astoria Reuse Center
Queens Kickshaw
Paulie Gee’s
Nightwood
image: Dan Lucal
image: John Tyson
Weekly Food Scrap Drop-offs
•Host 14 drop-off sites•22,500 drop-offs since July ‘13•174,000lbs collected at 14
drop-off sites
Volunteer engagement
•416 volunteers supported our work since July ‘13
•Over 20 volunteer opportunities since July ‘13
Compost distribution
•Over 140,000lbs of compost and mulch distributed to street tree stewards and community gardens since July
Event composting
•Provided organics recovery at 12 events
•Collected 6,500lbs at events
Community scale composting
•Composted over 400,000lbs since July 2013
•Plan to expand to a larger site under the Queensboro bridge (34,000sf)
Queensboro bridge compost site•18’ box truck•Jay-Lor A100 feedstock mixer•Toter Mobile Cart lifter•Case 420 skidsteer•Gore Cover system•10,000sf operating area•Used a donated O2 Compost
system from Peter Moon in 2013
•Upgraded to a Gore Cover system in January 2014
Turning compost by hand Spring 2013
Mixing batch by hand late Spring 2013 Mixing batch with Jay-Lor Fall 2013
Turning with skidsteer Summer 2013
Operations evolution
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Earthworm composting•Built a 5’x40’ continuous flow
worm bin, July 2013•Stocked bin with 200,000 red
wigglers•Producing and selling premium
earthworm compost at Build It Green!NYC in Astoria
•Expect to produce 15,000lbs finished compost
On the horizon at Build It Green!NYC
•Goal to expand or develop a compost site outside NYC
•Determining how we can play a role in NYC’s SWMP and new regulations around organics
•Researching opportunities for partnerships and funding
