We've always contended that while the whole composting/recycling thing is a noble and marvelous pursuit, we prefer our tiny apartment kitchens to be non-smelly and fruit-fly-free, and the whole composting thing (when we barely cook anyway and take trash out irregularly) becomes a minor source of torment. Furthermore, if and when the city decides to start issuing $100 - 1,000 fines to residents, building owners and businesses who fail to compost — and we remain skeptical that this is more than an idle threat, because are they really going to police our trash bags so closely? — we predict a major backlash, because the picking through our trash and pointing fingers at our failures starts to feel a little fascist, no?

Anyway, we should all pat ourselves on the back regardless as the city's Department of the Environment reports that we currently diverts 77 percent of our trash away from landfills through recycling and composting, which is the highest rate in the nation.

Meanwhile, they're trying to get up to 100% by 2020, and as the Appeal reports, they're doing so not by issuing fines (which they threatened they'd start doing in 2011), but by having feel-good press events highlighting businesses that have saved a bundle in trash collection by composting and recycling.

PREVIOUSLY: You Can't Compost Sperm