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Reusing New York city’s organic waste and making it cool to compost
Portrait of Domingo Morales

Winner

Domingo Morales

Reusing New York city’s organic waste and making it cool to compost
Portrait of Domingo Morales

Website

compostpowernyc.org

Year

2020

Organization

Compost Power

Sector

Environment & Sustainability

Borough

Brooklyn

Neighborhood

Red Hook

Domingo, a Bronx-born sustainability leader, is transforming NYC’s composting scene.

Domingo was born in the Bronx and has lived in all of NYC’s five boroughs. His obsession with composting and sustainability was shaped by his upbringing in public housing. Beginning with his enrollment in Green City Force, a non-profit that offers en…
Read winner story

Publication

The New York Times

The Unlikely Ascent of New York’s Compost Champion

By Cara Buckley
May 13, 2022
There were good reasons Domingo Morales, a city kid from the Bronx, didn’t want to try his hand at urban farming. He was terrified of germs. He thought vegetables were disgusting. Plus, everyone knows the ground in New York…
Domingo Morales
33%
of New York City’s trash is compostable

Podcast

How To Save A Planet | Gimlet

Waste, Worms and Windrows: Domingo Morales' Quest to Make Compost Cool
How To Save A Planet
March 17, 2022
There were good reasons Domingo Morales, a city kid from the Bronx, didn’t want to try his hand at urban farming. He was terrified of germs. He thought vegetables were disgusting. Plus, everyone knows the ground in New York…

Publication

Your Job | TIME for Kids

Urban farmer Domingo Morales is focused on compost.

By TIME for Kids Staff
September 19, 2022
Urban farmer Domingo Morales leads a composting program that is helping make New York City more sustainable…
“Recycling wasn't an option when I was a kid: New York City's public housing authority is designed to be wasteful⁠”
Domingo Morales
2020 David Prize Winner

Podcast

The Grow Guide

The Power of Compost with Domingo Morales
May 21, 2025
Maggie takes on the pod solo this week, welcoming New York-based guest, Domingo Morales for an interview covering all things compost…

Publication

PBS

New York’s “Compost Champion” Leads Fight to Save the Planet

By PBS Team
June 7, 2022
In NYC, where one-third of garbage is compostable, there’s a woeful shortage of composting services — especially for the one in 15 people who live in public housing. To prevent that trash from ending up in landfills and contr…
“Among our 500+ graduates at Green City Force, Domingo is not just a standout but a legend.⁠”
Lisbeth Shepherd
Co-founder and Strategic Advisor, 
Green City Force

Update from winner

@cafcu and @compostpower
@compostpowerMarch 26, 2024
Yesterday, our phenomenal students from @psms46harlem and @theislandschool188 both testified at NYC City Council and spoke at the @saveourcompost rally in support of community composting!
Domingo and his team

Podcast

Composting for Community

Building Waste Equity at NYC Public Housing (ft. Domingo Morales)
Jordan Ashby
June 25, 2024
“Even if you feel like the little gestures you make aren’t making a difference it’s those little gestures that add up to make the big difference. So if we can breed positivity by teaching others to be just a little bit more."…

Update from winner

Compost Power at NYBG
@compostpowerMarch 17, 2025
We had the honor of participating in New York Botanical Garden’s 2025 Crazy for Composting Conference. The theme was “Inspiring Youth to Learn and Lead through Composting”

Publication

New York Botanical Garden

Crazy for Composting: A Sustainable Celebration in the Heart of New York City

Pamela Alvarez
March 28, 2024
Domingo Morales, founder of Compost Power, captivated the crowd with his vision for building sustainable compost sites in underserved communities across NYC…

Publication

NY1

New Yorker of the Week: Domingo Morales

Pat Kiernan
October 19, 2020
“I just never thought, when I was a kid, that I would be working on a farm, in the city," said Morales. It was an AmeriCorps internship program for NYCHA youth called Green City Force that brought composting into his life…
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