Odor is the #1 barrier to composting participation, here is how programs can solve it upstream.
By Michelle Horneff-Cohen
Composting is one of the most practical climate solutions available to municipalities today. It reduces methane emissions, supports soil health, and keeps organic material out of landfills. Yet, even when cities invest in curbside organics programs, participation can remain inconsistent, and contamination stubbornly high. After years working as a residential property manager in San Francisco, CA, I learned something that does not show up on most program dashboards: Composting systems do not fail at the curb. They fail in the kitchen.
Most organics programs assume the resident鈥檚 job begins at the green bin. But the reality is that the resident鈥檚 hardest moment happens much earlier鈥攚hen they decide whether to compost at all. And for most households, the biggest barrier is not confusion, lack of climate awareness, or lack of goodwill. It is simple: odor.
Odor is Not a 鈥淩esident Issue鈥�, it is a System Design Issue
In multifamily housing especially, I watched residents struggle to comply with organics collection, even when they wanted to do the right thing. The problem was not that residents did not care. The problem was that in-unit collection was often gross, messy, inconvenient, and frankly embarrassing.
Food scraps smell. They leak. They attract pests. They create cleanup tasks. And in many homes, especially small apartments, there is nowhere 鈥済ood鈥� to keep them. When that friction adds up, people do not compost, or they compost inconsistently. They toss organics into trash. Or they compost 鈥渟ometimes,鈥� depending on mood, schedule, and tolerance for the 鈥渋ck factor.鈥� Some residents try to solve odor with plastic bags, which then become contamination at the composting facility. Others avoid composting altogether because it feels like an unsanitary chore rather than a normal household habit.
If we want strong organics performance, we need to stop treating odor as a side effect and start treating it as a key program design variable.
Why Odor Drives Contamination
Odor is not just a nuisance, it also creates downstream operational costs. When residents experience unpleasant smells, they often try to 鈥渇ix鈥� composting in ways that unintentionally harm the program. The following is what I have repeatedly seen.
Plastic Bags as Odor Control
Residents default to plastic because it feels cleaner, seals in odor, removes the mess, and it is familiar. However, plastic bags (even 鈥渃ompostable-looking鈥� ones) are a nightmare for organics processing. They reduce feedstock quality, increase labor, and can cause loads to be rejected.
Residents Overuse 鈥淲orkarounds鈥�
To avoid smell, residents store scraps too long, freeze them, or move them to strange containers (ice cream tubs, takeout containers, etc.). Those containers often end up in the green bin as contamination.
Residents Opt Out Entirely
Odor triggers avoidance. And avoidance lowers capture rates. It is that simple. Many programs are designed around rules (鈥減ut food scraps here鈥�) rather than realities (鈥渇ood scraps smell and people avoid bad smells鈥�). When systems ignore human behavior, performance suffers.
The Missing Link: Upstream Organics Collection
Municipalities and haulers have made major progress in organics processing, routing, and infrastructure. However, many programs still under-invest in the most important part of the system: in-home collection.
It is easy to assume the kitchen is 鈥渢he resident鈥檚 problem.鈥� But kitchens are part of the program ecosystem, because behavior is part of the infrastructure. If a resident cannot collect food scraps cleanly and comfortably at home, the program will never reach its potential.
This is especially true in:
鈥� Multifamily housing
鈥� Senior housing
鈥� Student housing
鈥� Small kitchens with limited counter space
鈥� Communities with language-access barriers
鈥� Buildings where staff manage bin set-out and cleaning
How Programs Can Address Odor, Without Relying On Plastic
Odor control does not require complicated technology. It requires realistic, resident-centered design. Here are practical strategies every organics program should consider.
Normalize 鈥淒ry Composting鈥� Habits
Residents often believe compost must be wet. But moisture accelerates odor. Programs should teach residents simple habits like draining liquids before composting, adding dry material when possible, and keeping lids closed. This seems basic, but it works. Small behavior shifts reduce odor significantly.
Make the Container Itself Part of the Solution
The design of the in-home container matters more than most people think. A good kitchen collection system should be:
鈥� Lidded
鈥� Stable
鈥� Simple to carry
鈥� Easy to keep clean
鈥� Friendly to small spaces
鈥� Not dependent on plastic liners
When a container feels clean and intentional, residents are more likely to use it consistently.
Focus on 鈥淭ossability鈥�
Here is a major insight from working in buildings: residents avoid tasks that feel like extra labor. If composting requires rinsing sticky bins daily or dealing with slimy residue, participation drops, odor rises, and contamination increases.
Programs that provide toss-able, upstream collection solutions can reduce these barriers, especially in multifamily settings where convenience is the difference between compliance and noncompliance.
This is not about disposable culture. It is about designing for program success. If the upstream container can be composted along with food scraps, it reduces cleanup friction and can improve participation.
Give Property Managers Practical Support
For multifamily housing, organics success lives or dies with building operations. Programs should support:
鈥� Clear signage (image-forward, multilingual)
鈥� Staff training
鈥� Set-out systems that do not add workload without support
鈥� Simple bin cleaning guidance and schedules
鈥� Pilot programs with measurable outcomes
Property managers do not need more mandates. They need tools that work in real buildings.
Make Odor Prevention Part of Outreach, not an Afterthought
Most compost outreach focuses on 鈥渨hat goes in the bin.鈥� That is important, but incomplete.
Odor messaging should be front and center:
鈥� 鈥淗ow to compost without smell鈥�
鈥� 鈥淗ow to keep your kitchen clean鈥�
鈥� 鈥淲hat to do in small spaces鈥�
鈥� 鈥淗ow to prevent pests鈥�
When programs treat residents like adults with real kitchens, participation grows.
The Takeaway: If it Smells Bad, People Will not Do it
This is not a moral issue. It is human behavior. Municipal composting programs are only as successful as the systems they build for residents to participate. And the biggest participation barrier, again and again, is odor.
When we solve odor upstream, we improve everything downstream:
鈥� Higher capture rates
鈥� Lower contamination
鈥� Fewer rejected loads
鈥� Better resident satisfaction
鈥� Better compliance outcomes
鈥� Better facility performance
Most importantly, we build programs that feel doable, and that is what creates lasting behavior change. Because when composting becomes clean and simple, people do not need to be forced. They participate willingly. And that is how real progress begins. | WA
Michelle聽Horneff-Cohen is the Founder of Clean Composting Company and Creator of The聽Compost Collector庐. With a passion for sustainable living and more than 25 years of experience in聽residential property management, Michelle saw first-hand the need to tackle inefficiencies in聽organic waste management. Driven by her vision for a cleaner, greener future, she leads the聽company in developing innovative, sustainable solutions that empower communities to compost聽with ease and confidence. For more information or bulk pricing options, contact Michelle at聽(415) 269-8803 or e-mail [email protected]. To order The Compost Collector庐,聽visit .