NYC food waste to fertilize rooftop green space

Food waste collected from 11 Manhattan buildings will be composted and used to fertilize green rooftops in the city, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Real-estate company The Durst Organization Inc., whose properties include One Trade Center, One Bryant Park and Four Times Square, plans to install an acre of green space atop several of its Manhattan buildings. Green rooftops provide insulation, collect rainwater and are said to increase employee productivity. The organization launched the compost program in early 2012 to produce fertilizer for its existing green rooftops, the article indicates.

"Green roofs are an increasingly important part of our urban ecosystem," Helena Durst, the organization's vice president who initiated the program, said in the article. "Beyond diverting storm water runoff, they provide cooling by absorbing sunlight that would otherwise be converted to heat energy, and they can capture pollutants and filter noxious gases."

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