In a bold move from real estate management company, Thee Durst Organization, food scraps and organic waste will be collected from eleven of its residential and commercial buildings in New York City. The waste material will be composted and used as fertilizer for roof-top gardens throughout the city.

The business, whose properties include such high-profile locations as One Trade Center, Four Times Square, and One Bryant Park also has plans to develop green space on top of  several of its New York City buildings. Green rooftops have been shown to be effective in dense, urban areas such as New York City for providing building insulation against heat and cold, collecting rainwater for landscaping use, as well as being an attractive recreational feature for apartment dwellers and businesses. The organization started the composting initiative last year and hopes to have report-able data later on its effectiveness later this year.

Additional benefits of green roof tops include their abilities to capture air pollutants and filter harmful gases that are increasingly prevalent in today’s city environment. While the plans will certainly help the city with its environmental improvement goals, and provide an attractive space for tenants, it will also assist is reducing the trash disposal fees incurred weekly by such densely populated buildings.

WasteCare Wants You to Remember: Just because you’re in a city doesn’t mean you can’t plant trees, grasses, and plants! Rooftop gardens are gaining in popularity in urban and densely-populated areas. If your work involves residential or commercial buildings in these kinds of areas, you might want to learn more about this innovative, and possibly cost-saving, strategy!