By @Sara Parral, Communication Specialist, West Valley Solid Waste Management Authority
Diverting food scraps from landfills is a critical step in reducing waste and lowering greenhouse gas emissions. Organic waste that ends up in landfills decomposes and releases methane, a potent greenhouse gas that significantly contributes to climate change. While many communities have adopted food scraps recycling programs, getting residents, especially those in multi-family housing, to actively participate remains a challenge. Factors such as lack of awareness or confusion, inconvenience, and concerns about odors and pests can deter residents from taking part.
The Hurdles to Overcome: Multi-Family Resistance
The multi-family sector has historically faced lower diversion rates compared to single-family homes, making it a key area for targeted intervention. Complex living arrangements, shared waste disposal systems, and inconsistent access to recycling education further contribute to low participation rates. Recognizing these challenges, the West Valley Solid Waste Management Authority (Authority) and the City of Sunnyvale (Sunnyvale), have launched separate pilot programs focused specifically on multi-family households. Each program is testing a different approach to engaging residents in food scraps recycling, with the goal of identifying best practices that can be applied on a larger scale to improve overall program success.
Technology Driven Solution
The Authority is embracing technology-driven solutions to eliminate common barriers to participation. Many residents cite concerns about mess, odors, and limited space as major deterrents to participation. To tackle these challenges, the Authority’s pilot program is testing Mill Industries’ (Mill) in-home kitchen dehydrators, which offer a clean, convenient, and odor-free way to handle food scraps. These high-tech devices transform food waste into a dry, lightweight material that is easy to store and collect, directly addressing the concerns that often prevent residents from participating. Additionally, Mill’s technology allows users to track their waste reduction progress in real time, providing instant feedback and reinforcing positive behaviors. The hope is that by integrating technology into the process, food scraps diversion will become a seamless and rewarding habit for participants.
Social Marketing Solution
Meanwhile, Sunnyvale is taking a community-driven approach, focusing on direct outreach, education, and behavioral change strategies to increase participation. Many multi-family residents face common barriers to food scraps recycling, including lack of awareness, confusion about proper sorting, and uncertainty about the benefits of participation. To address these challenges, Sunnyvale is prioritizing effective communication, engagement, and motivation rather than specialized technology. The city is utilizing tools such as social norms, personal commitments, and prompts to encourage residents to take part, recognizing that when people see their neighbors participating, they are more likely to do the same. By testing these social engagement strategies, Sunnyvale aims to determine how education and direct interaction can overcome barriers, drive behavior change, and boost participation rates.
Both pilot programs are incorporating visual waste audits to measure their impact and identify the most effective strategies for increasing food scraps recycling in multi-family communities. These audits analyze waste composition in each material stream before and after implementation, assessing factors such as food scraps contamination, landfill waste reduction, and the volume and weight of recycled food scraps. By gathering this data, the Authority and Sunnyvale can determine which methods drive higher participation rates, increased food scraps recycling, and improve overall program efficiency. The findings from these pilots will not only help shape future food scraps diversion programs but also provide data-driven recommendations that enable cities to invest in strategies that have been proven to be effective.
While the pilots are still ongoing, the results could revolutionize food scraps recycling and offer valuable lessons for other communities facing similar challenges. Which approach will prove most effective? Stay tuned for the full findings, which will be shared in the session " Power in Community-Based Social Marketing: Organics Recycling in Multi-Family Communities" at the CSDA Annual Conference in August 2025.