STA Contract Changes Strengthen Program

The requirements of the Seal of Testing Assurance contract are a primary way the US Composting Council increases the sales power of the STA logo, ensuring credibility and trustworthiness of the compost our participants produce.
 
Every year, USCC staff discovers new situations that require us to revise the contract for Seal of Testing Assurance participants.

This year that situation was a compost manufacturer who had left the STA program, yet continued to use the STA logo on marketing materials despite our request to stop use. As a result, USCC had to resort to legal notice to stop this violation. USCC has added explicit language in the STA contract that states anyone who violates the contract they signed, is obligated to pay the legal fees resulting from their disregard for the STA contract and the authority of the US Composting Council to enforce the contract. With this change, the power of the STA logo to represent compost integrity to end-users nationwide is increased.