How do you send STA Certified Compost use to the top of the charts? You work with the US EPA! The United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) has an initiative to reduce the environmental impacts of materials. One part of that is the US EPA’s Comprehensive Procurement Guideline (CPG) that promotes using recycled materials, such as compost. The US EPA’s CPG program was made available for comment this summer – it was last reviewed in 2007. The USCC recognized this as a unique opportunity to gain sales traction for all compost manufacturers and distributors nationwide. As such, the USCC Market Development Coordinator Hilary Nichols drafted comments for the US EPA, requesting comprehensive updates from the US EPA to address issues in the definition of compost, specifications for use, and creating buyback programs. Members of the Market Development Committee (MDC) – Ron Alexander, Gary Gittere, Kate Sullivan, and USCC Executive Director Frank Franciosi – provided input into the submitted comments, adding additional details. Click here to view the comments. With federal guidelines designating STA Certified Compost as the industry standard, and a wider list of US EPA-promoted types of uses and benefits for compost, compost use will grow.