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Expanding residential food-scrap access in western Connecticut

Home » Case Studies » Expanding residential food-scrap access in western Connecticut
Client:

HRRA

Location:

Western Connecticut, USA

Application:

Access-controlled public organics drop-off

Product Solutions:

Access-controlled metroSTOR FX System

In small towns and rural communities, drop-off can be the right primary model for food-scrap collection. HRRA’s program across western Connecticut shows how a distributed drop-off network, supported by secure metroSTOR sites and local ASP composting, can widen access, keep contamination low, and drive costs down significantly over time.

Serving 14 municipalities, most of them rural, HRRA needed a model that could work reliably across smaller towns and dispersed communities. Under Jennifer Heaton-Jones’ leadership, the authority now operates 29 drop-off locations across the region, including 20 satellite metroSTOR container sites and nine municipal drop-off locations. It also has access to three commercial processors, has built two municipal aerated static pile systems, and is developing two in-vessel composting systems.

Why drop-off works well in rural communities

HRRA’s early curbside pilot showed that participation could be strong, but it also exposed the economic weakness of trying to sustain paid curbside collection in very small towns. When residents were asked to pay after the free pilot ended, participation collapsed.

That led HRRA to a clearer conclusion: in smaller and more dispersed communities, a public drop-off network can be a more resilient long-term model. The metroSTOR sites now extend existing transfer-station drop-off, backyard composting, and other local options by giving residents another convenient route to divert materials such as dairy, bones, and cooked food.

Convenient access with stronger control

The satellite containers were introduced to solve one of the main weaknesses of rural transfer-station drop-off: limited hours and inconvenient locations. HRRA placed the units on municipally owned sites that were well lit, central to town, and easy to access by car.

That convenience has been paired with tighter control. The containers are locked at all times, use app-based access, and can only be opened by registered users. HRRA also installed an internal camera-based monitoring system, giving the authority visibility into what is being deposited, who is using the sites, and how often servicing is required. That has helped support direct education, easier program management, and better operational visibility as the network grows.

Low contamination, no dumping problems, and dependable operation

One of the strongest outcomes from the program is that the drop-off model has remained clean and well controlled in practice. Jennifer Heaton-Jones said HRRA has seen very little contamination overall, and noted that curbside organics collection tends to be much more contaminated than drop-off programs.

The satellite sites have also avoided several of the problems often associated with unattended public drop-off locations. HRRA has not experienced vandalism, has not encountered significant privacy issues with the camera system, and has not had issues with bins being too full or with residents leaving material outside the enclosure. In a rural setting, the enclosed locked format also helps protect deposited material from wildlife access.

Driving costs down through local ASP composting

The biggest strategic shift in the HRRA program has been on cost. Although organics tipping fees are lower than municipal solid waste – about $65 per ton for organics versus $111 per ton for MSW – transport and external processing had historically made the program difficult to justify financially. Jennifer Heaton-Jones said that while material still had to be hauled to commercial processors, the system “never saved us money.”

That changed when HRRA pivoted into local ASP composting. In 2021, it built Connecticut’s first permitted solar-powered aerated static pile system, followed by a second ASP system in Newtown in 2024. Jennifer said the ASP model removed the two biggest cost drivers: transportation and external tip fees. In Newtown, a program that had previously been running at an average loss of $3,000 per year moved into cost savings once the ASP system was introduced, with nearly $8,500 in savings reported to date. The ASP system also eliminated separate brush and leaf disposal costs by using that material as carbon source for composting.

Flexible and scalable as demand grows

Another strength of the HRRA approach is that the network can expand incrementally. The authority can add more satellite bins where demand grows, use participation and servicing data to refine the network, and build more local composting capacity where the economics support it.

HRRA expects to expand the satellite network by at least another 20 containers and is purchasing its own regional truck so municipalities can pool collection resources and reduce cost further. For towns without their own ASP system, HRRA plans to work across the regional network to share collection and processing capacity.

Why this matters

The HRRA program shows that in small towns and rural areas, drop-off is not just a fallback when curbside is difficult. It can be the right primary model. It offers broad access, lower contamination, controlled use, and the flexibility to expand over time.

More importantly, HRRA shows how the economics can improve dramatically when that drop-off network is paired with local ASP composting. That combination reduces transport and disposal costs, strengthens municipal control, and creates a much more durable rural organics system.

“In Connecticut, we’ve seen very little contamination… curbside organics collection tends to be much more contaminated than drop-off programs.” – Jennifer Heaton-Jones, Executive Director, HRRA

Looking at food scraps drop-off infrastructure in your own area?

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