Case Study: Hennepin County reduces food waste with Padilla's Trash or Cash campaign

Hennepin County cuts food waste with Padilla, driving 43M earned media impressions

Hennepin County faced the challenge of reducing household food waste as part of its larger Zero Waste Plan, aiming to divert 90% of waste from landfills. The county engaged the communications firm Padilla to launch a behavior change campaign targeting residents.

Padilla’s solution was the “Trash or Cash” campaign, which used a game-show theme and a humorous approach to reframe food waste as a loss of money, directing residents to an educational microsite. The campaign generated over 8 million digital display impressions and 43 million earned media impressions, driving more than 5,000 visitors to the site. According to Padilla’s survey, nearly 80% of subscribers to the campaign's Fridge Check Friday emails reported successfully preventing food waste at home.

Hennepin County