Inside Cogent’s Brooklyn Transfer Station: Turning NYC’s Food Waste Into Resources

Every day, New York City produces thousands of tons of material—everything from food scraps and cardboard to metals and plastics. At Cogent Waste Solutions, we’re committed to handling that material safely, efficiently, and sustainably.

In this article, we take you inside our Brooklyn Transfer Station, where organics from across the city begin their journey toward composting, soil enrichment, and renewable energy production. This behind-the-scenes look is accompanied above by a video tour that shows the process in action.

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Safety First—Always

Upon arrival, every visitor and team member follows our safety-first protocol. This means wearing a hard hat and high-visibility vest when entering the facility. Large vehicles and heavy material-handling equipment are always in motion here, so proper PPE is non-negotiable.

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Where Organics Begin Their Journey

On one side of the facility, you’ll find trailers being loaded for waste removal. On the other, there’s our composting pit, the entry point for organic waste collected from supermarkets, restaurants, delis, bodegas, and other commercial food operations across NYC.

This material often arrives in bags or toters, brought in by our own fleet, which includes smaller collection vehicles and 20-yard compactors for tighter urban routes.

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Handling High Volumes

By 8:30 or 9:00 each morning, our team has cleared out anywhere from 150 to 300 tons of municipal solid waste from the previous night. This material heads out to facilities where it is converted into waste-to-energy. Along the way, cardboard, metals, and salvageable plastics are removed for recycling.

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The Importance of Plastic Removal in Composting

One critical step in our organics process is removing plastic contamination. Many bags containing food waste are not biodegradable, and these can jam the equipment at the farms and processing facilities we partner with.

Our team manually opens and empties these bags, separating the organics from the non-compostable plastics. The plastics are then baled and sent to recycling facilities, ensuring they never end up in compost piles or in the landfill unnecessarily.

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A Commitment to Sustainability

From one end of the pipeline to the other, the Brooklyn Transfer Station is a key part of our Zero Waste mission. By separating, recovering, and redirecting materials to their highest and best use, we reduce landfill dependency and keep valuable resources in circulation.