Zero Waste
A landfill-free community pilot across 500 homes — refill stations, repair cafes and block composting that made the trash bin the smallest one.
What if the trash bin shrank first?
Maple Grove's 500 homes sent a full landfill cart to the curb every week. The pilot flipped the default: smaller trash bins collected biweekly, with recycling, compost and reuse options made easier than throwing away.
Twelve months later, the average household's landfill bag fit in a grocery sack — and most families say the new routine is simpler, not harder.
Our approach
We made reuse the convenient choice: a monthly refill truck for soaps and staples, a repair cafe for kettles and bikes, block compost captains on every street and a swap shed at the community center.
Kids led the way — the school's waste audit kicked off the pilot, and student "bin detectives" kept the whole neighborhood honest.
Deliverables
- Monthly refill truck and repair cafe
- Block compost captains on every street
- Swap shed and school audit program
- Open playbook for other neighborhoods
Results and outcome
- Average household landfill waste fell to a fraction of pilot-start levels
- Repair cafe fixed hundreds of items that would have been replaced
- Two nearby neighborhoods launched their own pilots from the playbook
- Program continues self-run by resident captains with Wasteward hauling
