When the District鈥檚 compost pilot program launched in fall of 2023, the white compost buckets issued to the 9,000 households participating in the project were routinely stolen from front sidewalks or back alleys. More than 4,000 disappeared in the program鈥檚 first year alone.
The District鈥檚 Department of Public Works encouraged participants to write their names and addresses on their buckets, keep them out of public view and retrieve them from the curb as soon as their compost was collected. But the bucket nabbing continued and the city knew it had to take a different tack.
In February, DPW introduced a solution: a bright orange, seven-gallon bin with a lid that latches shut. It holds more compost, is easier to load and unload and is more secure, the program鈥檚 administrators say. The District believes the highly-visible new design, which identifies the buckets as city property, will make them a less tempting carry-all for those who have been carrying-off the original buckets.