STRENGTHENING THE SEAL OF TESTING ASSURANCE PROGRAM WITH SUPPORT FROM EXPERT STAKEHOLDERS

The US Composting Council’s Board of Directors' 2020-2023 Strategic Plan has directed the importance of expanding the Seal of Testing Assurance (STA) Certified Compost Program as the gold standard for compost in the US and beyond. Brian Fleury, Vice President of the USCC Board of Directors and Vice President of Organic Residuals at WeCare Denali says: “As one of the pioneer STA participants, we understood the importance for the industry”.

This spring the Board of Directors contracted with Ron Alexander (R. Alexander Associates), one of the founders of the program and a well-respected compost market research/development consultant, to review the state of the program, and give input on the direction and future emphasis of the program. In his review, Ron contacted 12 current STA participants, 2 current USCC staff, 1 past STA manager, 1 lab, 1 CAP lab program manager, the 2 current Market Development Committee (MDC) co-chairs, and 4 end users/specifiers to gather information. Ron’s report to the Board outlines recommendations, including changing the structure of committees supporting the program. These recommendations will help improve the program to the benefit of compost manufacturers and end-users alike.

The STA program will now be supported by three committees instead of one:

• The Standards and Practices Committee of the Compost Council Research & Education Foundation (CCREF) updating, among other things, the compost test methods of TMECC, which are the basis of the STA program
• The STA Advisory Committee of the USCC will make recommendations on improvements on the structure and management of the program
• The Market Development Committee of the USCC working to market both general compost use and STA Certified Compost

With the workload divided among more committees, and with new technology in the works, the STA program will advance more quickly!

Read more about these committees in the articles below.