Multifamily Sort Smart Challenge

Sort Smart written out with images of recycling dumpster and food waste cart with recycling items and food waste items flowing into them.

The Sort Smart Challenge is a three-month, friendly competition between Kirkland multifamily properties to reduce recycling and compost contamination and improve resident sustainability behaviors. It’s fun, educational, and a great way to support your residents and community!

How does it work?

Participating properties receive:

  • Twice‑per-month recycling and compost checks using photos captured by WM collection trucks
  • A monthly report with contamination results, optional on-site support dates and a short resident email or a stand-alone tip to share.
  • A review of container sizes to identify opportunities to reduce overflow, contamination, and improve efficiency

Our shared goal? Cleaner recycling, lower costs where possible and a more sustainable Kirkland.

Why Participate?

Participating in the Sort Smart challenge can help:

  • Reduce contamination issues and charges
  • Identify right‑sizing of dumpster and carts for more efficient service levels
  • Strengthen residents’ recycling and composting habits
  • Build a cleaner, more environmentally responsible community
Guides to help you recycle and compost right:

Click on the images below to view the full-size images of each waste stream poster.

Recycling guide showing accepted items such as paper, cardboard, metal cans, plastic bottles, tubs, cups, and glass bottles and jars.   Composting guide showing food scraps, food-soiled paper, and compostable bags accepted in the compost cart.    Garbage guide showing non-recyclable and non-compostable items such as plastic wrappers, dirty food containers, plastic bags, packing materials, and broken household items.

Guides are available in multiple languages:

Chinese / 繁體中文(3 page pdf)
Spanish / español(3 page pdf)
Russian / Русский(3 page pdf)
Korean / 한국어(3 page pdf)
Amharic / አማርኛ(3 page pdf)
Somali / Af Soomaali(3 page pdf)
Vietnamese / Tiếng Việt(3 page pdf)
Hindi / हिंदी(3 page pdf)

Top Tips for Recycling and Composting

No plastic bags, No expanded polystyrene (StyrofoamTM), No bagged recyclables, No clothes or textiles, and No wires or cords. Find out how to recycle these items by visiting our Beyond the Cart webpage.

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2026 Sort Smart Tournament Overview:

Executive Summary

The 2026 Sort Smart Tournament was a 12-week multifamily recycling education and contamination reduction program conducted jointly by the City of Kirkland and WM. The tournament built upon the success of the 2025 Sort Smart Tournament and focused on improving recycling quality through twice-monthly contamination monitoring, property manager engagement, resident education and optional on-site support.

 

Program Impact at a Glance

  • Properties Participating: 9
  • Households Reached: 1109
  • Educational Emails Sent: 27
  • Remote Contamination Checks Conducted: 108
  • On-Site Events/Visits Completed: 2
  • Resident Interactions: 25
  • Property Managers Actively Engaged: 9
  • Total WM Staff Hours Invested: 35 hours

Program Overview

The Sort Smart Tournament officially launched on March 30, 2026, and concluded in June 2026. Participating multifamily properties received twice-monthly contamination evaluations, monthly performance feedback, educational materials, optional site visits and recognition opportunities.

Key Accomplishments

  • Reached more than 1,100 multifamily households.
  • Completed 108 contamination evaluations.
  • Engaged all participating property managers. 
  • Identified and addressed the root cause of a recurring contamination issue at Waterscape Apartments.
  • Installed or distributed recycling signage at Aspect at Totem Lake.
  • 89% of properties improved or maintained performance after the second feedback cycle.

Common Contaminants

The prevalence of bagged recyclables suggests that future education efforts should focus on both residents and maintenance staff, as contamination can occur during collection and transport even when residents place materials in the correct container. As you can see in the graph below, properties in both the first and second half of the tournament had high contamination in bagged recyclables. 

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Final Rankings

Competition remained close throughout the tournament, with several properties demonstrating consistently low contamination levels. Final rankings were determined using cumulative contamination observations collected during six monitoring periods. 

Final Ranking:

1. Juanita Court – maintained perfect performance throughout the tournament,

recording no contamination observations across all six monitoring perio ds.

2. Arrowood – consistently low contamination levels and strong overall

performance.

3. Wild Glen – maintained strong recycling quality and actively engaged with

tournament communications.

4. Cedarwood

5. Grata at Totem Lake

6. Asbury Park

7. North at Totem Lake

8. Waterscape

9. Aspect at Totem Lake

Juanita Court earned first place with zero contamination incidents throughout the tournament. As the winners, they received sustainability packages for their residents which included reusable recycling tote bags, bento boxes, reusable utensils, reusable bags, and more, as well as a two -month textile recycling service through WM.

 

Conclusion

The 2026 Sort Smart Tournament successfully maintained engagement across all nine participating properties while increasing awareness of proper recycling practices. Following feedback communications, 67% of properties improved or maintained performance aft er the first report and 89% improved or maintained performance after the second report, demonstrating the value of regular contamination monitoring and personalized feedback. Participating property managers actively supported the program through resident communications, signage improvements, outreach events, and operational changes. While challenges such a resident engagement and bagged recyclables remain, the tournament demonstrated that consistent education, data -driven feedback, and strong partnerships can drive meaningful improvements in multifamily recycling programs. Continued investment in the Sort Smart Tournament will help support Kirkland's waste reduction and recycling goals while building on the successes achieved during the 2026 program.

 

Juanita Court: Announcement Video

This year, Juanita Court took home the championship by achieving zero contamination. That means residents consistently placed the right materials in the correct recycling and garbage carts throughout the tournament.

Mayor Kelli Curtis announcing Juanita Court as the winner for the 2026 Sort Smart Tournament: 

 

 

 

 

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