Smart composting infrastructure across Washington, DC

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Client:

District of Columbia Department of Public Works

Application:

Public food scraps collection infrastructure

Product Solutions:

metroSTOR FX65 / metroKEY Smart Access + Fill Level Sensors

Broadening composting access across the District

Washington, DC has been expanding composting as part of its wider Zero Waste and climate goals, but curbside collection and farmers’ market programs still left many residents without an easy way to participate.

That gap mattered most in a dense urban environment where many residents live in multifamily housing and do not have the same access to curbside services as lower-density neighborhoods. The District needed a way to broaden participation without waiting for universal curbside rollout.

Making public composting work in a dense city

In a city like Washington, broader access alone is not enough. Public food scraps collection also has to deal with contamination, misuse, rodent pressure, and the practical reality of servicing busy urban locations reliably.

That meant the District needed infrastructure that could do several jobs at once: make composting more convenient, protect the organics stream, limit pest access, and support efficient day-to-day operation across a large network of public sites.

A citywide network built around secure, smart public infrastructure

To support that, the District of Columbia Department of Public Works launched a network of smart food scraps collection bins across all eight wards.

The rollout used metroSTOR F-Series organics enclosures, housing standard collection carts within fully enclosed steel units designed for public use in dense city environments. Residents can access the bins using either the metroKEY app or keypad entry, helping the District widen participation while maintaining stronger control over use.

The enclosed design also helps keep rodents out, protect the material stream, and maintain better site conditions in public-facing locations. At the same time, the units complement the District’s wider composting infrastructure rather than replacing it, adding another access layer alongside existing curbside and market-based programs.

A stronger public model for participation and day-to-day control

The rollout has significantly expanded public composting across Washington, DC, giving residents a broader network of collection options across the city.

What makes the model especially effective is the combination of convenience and control. Residents can use the bins at any time, while the District gains a more practical way to manage participation, maintain cleaner streams, and keep the sites operating consistently.

“The smart bins have been a game-changer for DC. Residents have really embraced them, and it’s been amazing to see the positive response.”

That convenience is not a secondary feature. It is central to whether a public composting network works at all.

“Convenience is absolutely key. If access to composting isn’t easy, people won’t do it. The smart bins give residents 24-hour access, which opens composting up to thousands of people.”

Ashlea Smith-Sabeti
District of Columbia Department of Public Works

A more practical path for urban organics expansion

The District’s smart bin network gives Washington a practical way to expand food waste diversion without depending on universal curbside collection.

That matters because urban composting systems have to work within real constraints: different housing types, limited space, varied neighborhood conditions, and the operational pressures that come with dense public infrastructure. Enclosed, access-controlled, and monitored bins provide a way to broaden participation while still protecting the stream and keeping operations manageable.

The program also shows the value of pairing physical containment with smarter servicing and monitoring. Bins are serviced regularly, and the infrastructure supports better route planning and more consistent operation across a large city network.

What this shows for cities expanding composting

The Washington, DC project shows how cities can expand composting in a way that is both resident-friendly and operationally workable.

For dense urban environments, the challenge is rarely access alone. It is access combined with cleanliness, pest resistance, material quality, and day-to-day manageability. In DC, a citywide network of secure public bins helped address those issues together, creating a stronger platform for long-term organics diversion.

For municipalities looking to widen composting across different neighborhoods and housing types, that makes smart public infrastructure a practical part of the solution.

Looking at public composting infrastructure in your own city?

We work with municipalities and program partners to design organics infrastructure that expands participation, protects material quality, and helps public programs operate more reliably in dense urban environments.

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