Sustainability Star Program

The Costa Mesa Sanitary District’s Sustainability Star Program highlights residents for practicing and exemplifying sustainability in their everyday lives. You can be recognized as a Sustainability Star by making sure you are sorting your waste into the proper carts, modeling good recycling practices, and demonstrating commitment to the environment in other innovative ways.
Each quarter, CMSD will select a Sustainability Star and award them with a prize. The resident and their outstanding sustainability practices will be featured in the District’s newsletter and on social media!
Sustainability Stars can be selected in one of two ways:
Cart-to-Cart Outreach Program
Beginning on August 17, 2020, CMSD/CR&R will start to lift lids of Organics Carts and leave one of two tags:
Oops Tag: Non-organic trash in the cart![]() |
Awesome Tag: Only organic waste in the cart![]() |
Homes will be revisited over several weeks to see if behavior changes, and staff will keep track of which homes received which tags each time.
Through this program, CMSD may pick a Sustainability Star who is
- “Awesome” on a given day (receives an “Awesome” tag when a cart is picked at random),
- Consistently “Awesome” (receives three “Awesome” tags in a row) or,
- Most Improved (receives an “Awesome” after receiving an “Oops” tag in the past).
Community Nominations
Do you know of someone in your service area who goes above and beyond with a sustainability practice? Send us the resident’s name and their Sustainability Star qualities by EMAIL.
Stay up to date on the Sustainability Star Program by following us on social media, where we will highlight our star residents and share other sustainability updates with the hashtag #CMSDSustainabilityStar.