While the first generation of organics programs focused on building infrastructure, the next generation should focus on building habits. Recognizing that human behavior is an equally important component of the diversion equation.
By Michelle Horneff-Cohen
For years, waste management in the organics industry faced a relatively straightforward challenge: Access. Residents could not participate in food scraps recycling because many communities simply lacked the infrastructure. Collection routes were limited, processing facilities were scarce, and municipal budgets were stretched thin. Even households that wanted to divert food waste often had nowhere to send it.
The industry’s response was ambitious and necessary. Municipalities expanded collection programs. States adopted organics diversion mandates. Composting and anaerobic digestion infrastructure increased capacity. Public agencies invested in education and outreach. In many communities, food scraps collection evolved from a niche environmental initiative into an essential component of waste management.
Participation is Complex
By nearly every measure, this represents progress. Today, more residents have access to organics collection than ever before. More jurisdictions are establishing diversion goals. More processing facilities are coming online. More communities are recognizing that food waste represents one of the largest remaining opportunities for landfill diversion. Yet as organics programs mature, a different challenge is beginning to emerge: human behavior.
Infrastructure can scale much faster than human behavior. The industry has spent years focused on building the systems necessary to collect and process food scraps. Increasingly, however, communities are discovering that access alone does not guarantee participation. A collection cart at the curb does not automatically result in food scraps being separated in the kitchen. A new organics route does not necessarily create lasting household habits. Even the most sophisticated processing facility depends on residents consistently placing the right materials into the right stream.
This is not a criticism of organics programs. In many ways, it is evidence of their success. As long as access remained the primary barrier, the industry’s mission was clear: build infrastructure. Once infrastructure exists, however, the challenge shifts from creating opportunity to creating participation. And participation is considerably more complex.
Unlike many waste management improvements that occur behind the scenes, organics diversion requires thousands of small decisions to be made correctly every day. Residents must identify food scraps, separate them from trash, understand collection requirements, and incorporate new routines into already busy lives. Most importantly, they must continue participating long after the excitement of a new program has faded.
The reality is that support for composting and participation in composting are not always the same thing. Many residents support environmental goals. Many understand the importance of diverting organic waste from landfills. Many want their communities to succeed. Yet those beliefs do not automatically translate into consistent behavior. Between intention and action lies a series of practical challenges that every organics program must eventually address.
The Industry’s Success Has Created a New Challenge
The waste and recycling industry has spent decades developing systems capable of converting organic waste into valuable resources. Compost facilities transform food scraps into valuable soil amendments. Anaerobic digestion facilities recover energy from organic materials. Municipalities increasingly view organics diversion as a critical strategy for reducing landfill dependence and lowering greenhouse gas emissions.
Historically, collection was the bottleneck. Today, participation is increasingly becoming the limiting factor. As programs expand, municipalities are beginning to ask different questions than they did a decade ago:
• How many households are actively participating?
• How frequently are they participating?
• Which educational efforts create lasting behavior change?
• Why do some neighborhoods outperform others?
• What barriers remain even after collection service becomes available?
These questions reflect an important shift in the industry’s maturity. The focus is no longer solely on access. It is increasingly about engagement, consistency, and long-term participation. That distinction matters because waste conversion begins long before organic material reaches a compost facility or digester. It begins in homes. It begins in kitchens. And it begins with habits.
Why More Organics Programs Are Discovering That Access Does Not Equal Participation
One of the most important lessons emerging from organics programs across North America is that availability and participation are not the same thing. A municipality can provide every household with an organics cart and still struggle with low participation rates. Educational materials can be distributed to thousands of residents while contamination remains persistent. Collection routes can expand while diversion rates fail to meet expectations. This reality often surprises communities during the early stages of program implementation. After all, if residents support composting and have access to collection services, shouldn’t participation naturally follow? Experience suggests otherwise.
Behavior change rarely occurs simply because infrastructure exists. People adopt new habits when systems are easy to understand, easy to use, and easy to maintain over time. This challenge is not unique to organics diversion. Public health campaigns, energy conservation efforts, and recycling programs have all encountered similar realities. Providing access creates opportunity, but sustained participation requires something more. It requires convenience, clarity, and consistency.
The Three Participation Gaps Emerging Across Organics Programs
As municipalities evaluate organics program performance, three participation gaps are appearing with increasing frequency.
#1: The Knowledge Gap
Even in communities with strong outreach efforts, many residents remain uncertain about what belongs in the organics stream. Questions surrounding food-soiled paper, compostable products, contamination standards, and accepted materials continue to create confusion. Rules differ between jurisdictions, facilities, and haulers, making it difficult for residents to feel confident that they are participating correctly. When uncertainty increases, participation declines.
#2: The Convenience Gap
Most residents support composting in principle. The challenge is integrating it into daily life. Households are balancing work schedules, childcare responsibilities, commuting, and countless other demands. Every additional step introduced into a routine creates potential friction. For organics programs, convenience often determines whether participation becomes a habit or remains an occasional activity. This challenge can be particularly pronounced in multifamily housing environments where residents may have limited kitchen space, shared collection areas, or longer distances between their units and organics containers.
#3: The Consistency Gap
Perhaps the most overlooked challenge is maintaining participation over time. Many residents begin with enthusiasm. They attend community meetings, read educational materials, and actively participate during the launch of a new program.
Months later, participation patterns may look different. Busy schedules return. Habits weaken. Small inconveniences become larger barriers. What initially felt manageable may become less consistent. Long-term program success depends not only on attracting participants but also on helping them remain engaged.
Why Collection Data Does Not Tell the Whole Story
The waste industry is naturally driven by measurable outcomes. Tons collected, route efficiency, contamination rates, and diversion percentages all provide valuable information. However, these metrics do not always reveal the full picture. A community may report that thousands of households have access to organics collection:
- How many participate every week?
- How many participate occasionally?
- How many started strong but gradually stopped?
- How many households understand program requirements versus simply guessing?
These questions can be more difficult to answer, yet they often provide critical insights into long-term program sustainability. The next generation of organics programs may require a deeper understanding of participation behavior alongside traditional operational metrics.
What Municipalities Are Learning from Early Organics Programs
Across the country, municipalities continue experimenting with new approaches to organics diversion. Pilot programs, targeted outreach efforts, food scraps collection initiatives, and community education campaigns are generating valuable lessons.
One lesson appears consistently: education matters, but education alone is rarely sufficient. Residents need practical systems that fit within everyday life. Another lesson is that participation should be viewed as an ongoing process rather than a one-time achievement. Launching a successful program is important, but maintaining engagement over years requires continuous attention.
Communities are also learning that participation barriers often vary significantly across housing types, demographics, and collection environments. A strategy that works well in one neighborhood may require adaptation in another.
As more data becomes available, municipalities will be better positioned to understand not only whether residents have access to organics programs, but how they actually interact with them.
Why This Matters for Waste Conversion
Waste conversion depends on feedstock. Composting facilities, anaerobic digesters, and organics processors can only work with materials that successfully enter the collection system.
When participation remains inconsistent, the effects ripple throughout the entire chain. Diversion goals become harder to achieve. Collection programs operate below their potential. Processing facilities receive less material than anticipated. Communities struggle to capture the full environmental and economic benefits of their investments.
The future of waste conversion is therefore tied directly to participation. Infrastructure remains essential. Processing capacity remains essential. Markets remain essential.
But none of these components can achieve their full potential without consistent resident engagement.
The Next Phase of Organics Diversion
The first generation of organics programs focused on building infrastructure. The next generation may focus on building habits. This does not mean the industry should shift attention away from processing capacity, collection systems, or market development. Rather, it means recognizing that human behavior is an equally important component of the diversion equation.
The communities that achieve the greatest long-term success will likely be those that understand both sides of the system. They will invest not only in facilities and collection routes, but also in participation, usability, and resident experience. The waste industry has made remarkable progress expanding access to organics diversion.
The challenge now is ensuring participation keeps pace. Because the future of waste conversion will depend not only on what communities build, but on whether residents develop the habits needed to support it. | WA
Michelle Horneff-Cohen is the Founder of Clean Composting Company and Creator of The Compost Collector®. With a passion for sustainable living and over 25 years of experience in residential property management, Michelle saw, first-hand, the need to tackle inefficiencies in organic waste management. Driven by her vision for a cleaner, greener future, she leads the company in developing innovative, sustainable solutions that empower communities to compost with ease and confidence. For more information or bulk pricing options, contact Michelle at (415) 269-8803 or e-mail [email protected]. To order The Compost Collector®, visit www.cleancomposting.com.