Case study · Founder & Product
From pilot
to platform.
Composting is the most natural cycle on Earth — yet most people never see the loop close. COMPOSTARS is the engagement layer that closes the gap between compost mandates and the daily behavior they require.
The client
LA Compost. A nonprofit that runs community-rooted compost hubs across Los Angeles County. The first city partner to take COMPOSTARS live — and the research collaborator behind every pilot result on this page.
The challenge
Mandates aren’t enough. The gap between policy and behavior is the whole problem.
- 01
In 2024, 22.6 million tons of food hit U.S. landfills — 32% of the entire food supply.
- 02
Twelve U.S. jurisdictions have organics-diversion mandates on the books — but mandates alone don’t change behavior. Even in the Bay Area, household participation stays stubbornly low.
- 03
Up to 30% of some haulers’ operations go to managing contamination — the wrong things in the bin. Compost programs can’t succeed at city scale unless someone closes the gap between policy and the daily act of using the bin.
The approach
Three principles, working at the same time.
I founded COMPOSTARS to close the policy-to-behavior gap: an engagement layer that reconnects people to the food cycle, makes compost programs successful, and regenerates bioregional soil health.
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Make impact visible
Residents log a drop-off in seconds — weigh in, snap a photo — and the impact gets counted, attributed, and added up.
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Reward right behavior
Streaks, levels, and partnerships with farmers markets and local businesses turn composting into a habit worth keeping.
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Answer at the moment
An AI image check lets users point their camera at a bin and get an instant answer on what belongs — reducing contamination at the source.
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Close the loop
A back-end analytics dashboard hands compost orgs the operating data they need to make funding cases, plan capacity, and engage participants.
Inside the partnership with LA Compost
- 01
White-label web app
Branded web app gives residents personalized impact data — drop-off logging, streaks, levels, photo-attributed weigh-ins.
- 02
Operating dashboard
Back-end analytics hand LA Compost the data they need for funding cases, capacity planning, and participant engagement by segment.
- 03
AI contamination check
An image check lets users point their camera at a bin and get an instant answer on what belongs — reducing contamination at the source.
- 04
2025–26 rewards pilot
A pilot tested whether farmers-market discounts could move a big habit. Result: yes — and the lift held two months after rewards ended.
- 05
Co-design with LA Compost
Built with — not for — the partner. LA Compost is launch partner, research collaborator, and the reason the model is now ready to license to cities and haulers.
The outcome
A platform proven on real soil.
- 7,300+ households supported in LA
- 103K+ compost actions logged on the platform
- 64% rise in composting when rewards were present
- 13% sustained habit lift two months after rewards ended
A two-sided engagement platform delivering:
- A branded web app for residents — drop-off logging, streaks, levels, photo-attributed weigh-ins
- A back-end analytics dashboard for partner orgs — funding-case data, capacity planning, segment-level engagement
- An AI image check that answers “does this belong in the bin?” at the moment of action
- A rewards engine with farmers-market and local-business integrations
- A white-label model ready to license to cities and haulers
Currently in conversation with
Why it works:
- COMPOSTARS isn’t attention-economy tech. We don’t mine daily engagement or sell data — once the habit sticks, the job is done, and the soil is the proof.
- 90% of new composters at Crenshaw Market — a low-income, food-insecure neighborhood — joined because of rewards.
- 98% redemption rate on rewards at market — people show up and use them.
- Built with LA Compost, not for them — launch partner, research collaborator, system co-designer.
- The same loop that rewards residents hands the compost org its operating data — same mechanism, both sides benefit.
Designing behavior change into a sustainability program?
Or piloting COMPOSTARS in your city? I’m taking conversations with cities, haulers, and sustainability programs serious about closing the policy-to-behavior gap.
Start a conversation →