A food scraps program built to scale in Manchester CT

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Client:

Town of Manchester

Application:

Public food scraps collection infrastructure

Designing a food scraps program that can grow with confidence

The Town of Manchester created its food scraps collection program with a clear goal in mind: make participation easy enough to grow, while keeping the system controlled enough to produce useful data and clean organics streams.

Manchester saw a clear opportunity to reduce landfill disposal by capturing more food waste from households. Rather than add food scraps to its existing curbside services, the town chose a public collection model that could be launched more affordably and expanded more flexibly over time.

Why access alone was not enough

From the start, the town wanted a model that would be convenient enough for residents to use as part of everyday life.

Collection points were placed in familiar community locations so residents could build food scraps recycling into existing routines. Households that joined the program received a food scraps pail and compostable bags, giving them a straightforward route into participation.

But convenience alone was not enough. The town also needed to understand who was using the program, what material was being diverted, and how contamination could be prevented if the model was going to scale beyond a pilot phase.

“If you make it really easy for everybody who is interested to be involved, you’re going to get others interested and that interest will grow.”

A controlled public model with stronger operational visibility

To make that possible, Manchester chose a closed-access model using metroSTOR F-Series cart enclosures and metroKEY mobile access.

Residents could use their phones to access the units, while operators gained better visibility into participation and use patterns. That structure helped the team maintain control over the pilot, reduce contamination risk, and build a clearer picture of what the program was diverting from the regular trash stream.

The physical infrastructure also mattered. The enclosures used standard cart formats, allowing the town to work within normal hauling constraints rather than creating an entirely new servicing model. Foot-operated lids supported a cleaner, more hygienic user experience, while secure lids helped minimise odour and keep the sites better contained.

“One thing we like about these units is they’re enclosures for your standard trash cart.”

Early performance that supports wider confidence in the model

Over time, Manchester’s food scraps program has moved well beyond early promise and into visible, repeatable performance.

The town has expanded the network, seen regular resident participation, and maintained very low contamination through the combination of controlled access and steady communication with users. Just as importantly, the program has given the team a clearer picture of what is being diverted from the normal trash stream and how residents are actually using the service.

“We want to make it very clear when we’re looking at the data that this is what we are diverting from the trash that we would normally collect.”

Learning from live use and refining the system over time

As the program developed, Manchester used what it was learning to refine the model.

Site selection proved critical, with some locations performing much better than others and reinforcing how strongly convenience and visibility influence participation. The team also learned to avoid vulnerable placement, such as areas exposed to plows, and found that shaded locations helped reduce odour and wear during warmer months.

The program also surfaced accessibility lessons. While the mobile app worked well overall, some residents found it harder to use in certain settings. As a result, the town began considering keypad access in specific locations to make participation easier for a wider range of users.

Even with occasional equipment issues or user questions, support for the program remained strong.

“Every time someone reports a problem, they also say how much they value the program. People want to do the right thing!”

A public program supported by steady communication

One of the reasons the program has been able to maintain momentum is that communication has stayed active and practical.

Manchester supported the rollout with brochures, newsletter updates, in-person engagement, and creative local outreach. When participation dipped, reminders helped bring it back. That steady rhythm of communication reinforced the infrastructure rather than trying to compensate for it.

The result is a program that feels visible, normal, and worth using – which is exactly what a scalable public system needs.

A stronger foundation for long-term diversion

Manchester’s food scraps program shows how a town can use controlled public infrastructure to build a practical and scalable alternative to curbside collection.

The combination of convenient locations, secure access, clear communication, and standard cart-based servicing has given the town a model that can keep growing without losing operational control. Just as importantly, it has helped prove that community-led food scraps collection can work at town scale when participation and management are designed together.

For towns looking to reduce landfill use without taking on the cost and complexity of full curbside organics collection, that is a meaningful result.

What this shows for municipal food scraps programs

The Manchester project shows that public food scraps collection can be more than a small pilot or a stopgap service.

When collection points are easy to use, placed where residents already go, and supported by access control and consistent communication, it becomes much easier to grow participation while keeping the material stream clean. In Manchester, that has created a practical model for wider food waste diversion – one grounded in real user behaviour, operational learning, and measurable results.

For municipalities trying to balance affordability, usability, and long-term scalability, that makes Manchester a strong example of what a well-designed public program can achieve.

Looking at food scraps collection in your own community?

We work with municipalities and program partners to design organics infrastructure that supports participation, protects material quality, and helps public programs scale with confidence.

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