This Man Collects 13 Tons of Compost Every Night in NYC | On the Job | Priya Krishna | NYT Cooking

Paul Campbell has been a sanitation truck driver for 18 years. His most recent route has him lugging 300-pound bins filled with watermelon rinds, coconut shells and other compost onto a truck in the dead of the night. He sees a part of New York that few ever get the chance to glimpse: its vast food waste.

While the city sleeps, Mr. Campbell drives around picking up compost from restaurants and markets. As the sun rises, he deposits his haul at a warehouse, to be eventually turned into electricity, generated from biogas, for New York and New Jersey.

“On the Job With Priya Krishna” is a series about labor and the people who shape what we eat and how we eat, and whose jobs often go unseen.

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All the food that’s fit to eat (yes, it’s an official New York Times production).

[LuckyLifeguard]

i love how much humanity and dignity was brought to this story! also just fascinating to see what happens after we throw something in the compost bin. thank you priya and team!! ❤

[robertcotrell]

It was great to see Priya more!

Paul was fantastic, and I appreciate that you shared the full process with him as well.

[Merlybird]

This is my favorite series on YouTube! I love seeing so many human stories and Paul is the man! This seems like such a tough job and he owns it

[marktalbott]

Which really great is 1 ton of food waste from New York city removes 2.2 tons of carbon from the atmosphere after processing at Trenton Renewables . I was proud to be a part of it at my facility at Trenton Renewables !😊

[DeliaLee]

I had no idea that the NYC region did this much actual composting, made biogas and provided compost/mulch to local farms! So great!

[emmam]

I love Paul, he seems like such a sweetheart

[balusmbox]

"It dont talk back to you" - True words my man Paul.

Thank you Priya, for yet another fantastic episode <3

[retropulpmonkey]

Kudos to the audio team! Many different, difficult, environments to capture and it was done fabulously.

[mattgibson]

What a great watch & such a cool dude. Thanks for making his life story part of the greater story. Some people say immigration is a bad thing, but they have no concept of what they are talking about.

[poodlebone]

This was my favorite episode in this series!

[tamravenhill]

Priya is so good at this. She is so utterly charming in all situations. Great stuff

[richryan]

Hi Priya. This was a wonderful episode, thank you. You bring such engaging humanity to your content. Paul was a winner and a good, decent fellow. A delightful watch. Top stuff.

[ylluong]

It’s very enjoyable to watch. Thank you all!

[rachelsuson]

Wow, even more motivated to make sure things get into the right bins!

[spritelink]

I am a dedicated NYC composter and I found this video fascinating! I also wondered what happened to my compost after I deposit it at the farmer’s market or curbside bins. I knew it wasn’t going to a landfill but I didn’t know about the Trenton facility and how the bio gas was extracted to make energy to power electricity. Kudos to Paul for his hard work and to Priya for her first hand report.

[endtwoducing]

What a beautiful episode. Paul is such a kind man doing a job that so many of us overlook. And Priya is just the perfect blend of a kind and intelligent human being with a strong sense of right and wrong and a childlike inquisitive mind that wants to understand and learn. Great great series and one of the best episodes so far.

[lyss]

I love this story and this show so much! Truly eye opening to get to know the PEOPLE and processes that make these systems run. So inspiring ❤ makes me love the beautiful diversity of our country even more!

[jeremysoule]

Priya’s videos are THE BEST video content the NYT offers. So glad to see these faces and people behind the scenes of our food process. Thank you Priya and Paul!

[jayjonas]

Why is thi ssuch a feel good video? Priya was also a perfect cast/reporter for this

Best part: "Are those going to be a nightmare audio-wise if I get seaweed snacks?" *LOUD CRUNCH * "hmm, not a lot of film crews, though?" "Do I have seaweed on my face?"

[troubiemakie]

I know it would be super easy to just show the technical side of composting and show graphs and production numbers but I really appreciate how this was presented.