Long Island Restaurants Face a Growing Food Waste Crisis, But Commercial Carting Services Are Stepping Up to Help
Long Island’s restaurant industry is grappling with an unprecedented food waste challenge that’s putting both environmental and economic pressure on businesses across Nassau and Suffolk counties. Most of Long Island’s waste is being incinerated and trucked out of the state contributing unnecessarily to greenhouse gases, with Long Island producing about 500,000 tons of organic waste annually. However, innovative commercial carting services are emerging as crucial partners in helping restaurants tackle this mounting crisis while complying with increasingly strict state regulations.
The Scale of Long Island’s Food Waste Problem
Long Island towns and the rest of the state are looking for ways to reduce, reuse and recycle the 30% of New York’s waste stream that comes from food scraps, yard trimmings and other organic waste, with food scraps making up about 12-13% of Long Island’s solid waste. For restaurants specifically, this represents a significant operational challenge that extends beyond simple waste disposal.
Organic materials from food production make up 25% of all waste in New York, and in landfills, chemical reactions naturally occur during anaerobic digestion, producing biodegradable organic solids and greenhouse gases like methane and carbon dioxide, with organics buried under layers of garbage causing waste to decay in a way that generates methane on a massive scale.
New York State’s Mandatory Food Waste Laws Impact Restaurants
The regulatory landscape has fundamentally changed how Long Island restaurants must handle their organic waste. Effective January 1, 2022, businesses and institutions that generate an annual average of two tons of wasted food per week or more must recycle all remaining food scraps if they are within 25 miles of an organics recycler. A state law took effect to mandate 1,300 large companies and institutions statewide to scrap food waste and donate viable products, requiring businesses that generate more than two tons of food scraps per week to donate edible food to the maximum extent practicable and recycle what’s left over if there’s a facility within 25 miles.
The requirements will become even more stringent over time. Effective January 1, 2027, businesses and institutions that generate an annual average of 1 ton of wasted food per week or more must comply, and by January 1, 2029, businesses that generate an annual average of 0.5 tons of wasted food per week or more must participate.
How Commercial Carting Services Are Solving the Problem
Professional waste management companies are stepping up to provide comprehensive solutions that go far beyond traditional garbage pickup. Companies offer green waste removal services to businesses that produce organic trash, including restaurants and markets, with collectors picking up, sorting, and recycling organic waste in an environmentally friendly way, minimizing the negative impact on the environment.
Businesses must arrange for organic waste to be transported and/or processed separately from garbage and recycling, and are given the option to arrange for collection by a private carter, transport organic waste themselves, or process the material on-site through in-vessel composting.
For restaurants dealing with the complexities of food waste management, working with experienced carting Long Island services has become essential for both compliance and operational efficiency. Companies like Junk Raps offer fast, affordable services for businesses in Long Island, and as a full-service company that has been servicing business owners of Long Island for several years, they have developed a glowing reputation because of their commitment to customers, efficiency, and high-quality service.
The Business Benefits of Professional Food Waste Management
Restaurants that partner with commercial carting services are discovering multiple advantages beyond regulatory compliance. With food waste contributing to a range of environmental issues like methane emissions, pollution, and resource depletion, professional services ensure that food waste is carefully transported to treatment centers, thereby preventing health issues and helping businesses stay compliant with regulations.
For restaurants, delis, or any location that serves food, having a carting company that will take trash away on time is crucial because where there is food, there are animals, especially mice and rats that will inevitably find the source inside establishments, causing unsanitary conditions and problems with the Board of Health, making prompt removal from dumpster rentals and containers essential.
Innovative Solutions on the Horizon
Long Island is also seeing the development of cutting-edge waste processing facilities that transform the food waste challenge into an opportunity. The Yaphank anaerobic digester will be one of the largest in the world, expected to take in 210,000 tons of organic waste annually and generate 500,000 MMBtu of natural gas connected directly into the National Grid pipeline for thousands of homes, while producing 260,000 gallons of liquid fertilizer and 45,000 tons of compost.
Environmental Stewardship and Community Impact
The best commercial carting services are going beyond simple waste removal to embrace environmental responsibility. Companies like Junk Raps are committed to eco-friendly practices, recycling and donating items whenever possible to reduce waste sent to landfills, with responsible disposal methods prioritizing environmental sustainability.
Community composting helps reduce the amount of organic waste in landfills by providing space for local residents to compost food scraps and biodegradable materials, creating nutrient-rich soil amendment for healthy plants, and when organic waste decomposes in landfills it releases methane, so composting helps reduce methane released into the atmosphere, mitigating climate change impact.
Looking Forward: A Sustainable Future for Long Island Restaurants
As Long Island’s food waste crisis continues to evolve, the partnership between restaurants and professional carting services represents a critical solution. As of March 2025, 46 million pounds of food was donated to hungry New Yorkers as part of the ongoing implementation of the NYS Food Donation and Food Scraps Recycling Law, demonstrating the positive impact these programs are having.
For restaurant owners throughout Long Island, the message is clear: working with experienced commercial carting services isn’t just about compliance—it’s about building a more sustainable, efficient, and profitable operation. Professional services understand that business owners’ time is valuable and have specific needs, working around their schedule rather than imposing rigid timeframes, never setting time limits so clients never feel rushed, allowing them to take their time and get the job done on their terms.
The food waste crisis facing Long Island restaurants is significant, but with the right commercial carting partners, it’s a challenge that can be transformed into an opportunity for environmental leadership and operational excellence.