Michigan Organics Council Grant Awarded

The Michigan Organics Council (MOC), a committee of the Michigan Recycling Coalition and a State Chapter of the USCC, has been awarded an Organics Market Development grant through the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) under the project name of Landscape for the Lakes (LFTL) Campaign. LFTL Campaign aims to increase the diversion of organics to compost manufacturing by promoting the use of organics end products to targeted industries by providing technical information about compost value application to meet specified needs. The LFTL Campaign partners include Resource Recycling Systems (RRS), the US Composting Council, R. Alexander Associates, Doers Consulting, West Michigan Sustainable Business Forum, Country Oaks Landscape Supply and Composting, and Emmet County Recycling.

Partners will research local supply chains and pair their findings with existing information to develop toolkits to train Michigan experts to convey information to targeted audiences across the state. By connecting organic waste generators, haulers, and compost manufacturers with end users, LFTL can further sustain an organics circular economy to benefit healthy soils, clean air and water, a stable climate, and sustainable systems.

Generally identified as yard clippings, untreated wood waste, pre and post-consumer food scraps, and non-recyclable paper; organics represent more than 50% of the municipal solid waste stream by weight. Furthermore, some of the industries that will be targeted also have organic waste of their own that needs to be managed.  Recovering food and other organics and moving them through a circular economy system requires businesses, governments, and organizations to know both the value of alternative management techniques and the value of resulting end products in the marketplace.

The benefits of sustainable materials management and utilization of organics are broad and diverse, and contribute significantly to healthy soils, clean air and water, a stable climate, and sustainable systems. An initial focus of this work will be identifying and building awareness about existing research on the value of compost to improve soil health and function and improve downstream water quality. The Campaign aims to educate targeted stakeholders of the identified system to understand the benefits of managing organics for productivity within their sphere.

The Campaign will serve as the program umbrella under which collaborators will work to raise awareness of and share actionable information about service alternatives to waste disposal, the benefits of compost as a soil amendment in a variety of applications, and the production of energy through anaerobic digestion. Very broadly, this Landscape for the Lakes Campaign will increase the demand for properly managed organic end products, such as compost, by:

• Educating and promoting compost as a valuable soil amendment that can restore soil health, structure, and fertility to create a better growing medium
• Educating and promoting compost as a valuable soil amendment that can improve water holding capacity and reduce run-off and erosion to improve downstream water quality
• Promoting composting and anaerobic digestion as organics management services that reduce the production of greenhouse gases and create beneficial end products
• Developing Michigan-specific best management practices (BMP) and model ordinances to reflect changes in organics management and end product utilization

The goals of the campaign, in relation to this project, are to:

1. Target and engage key Michigan users of organics end products
2. Build understanding about the opportunities and benefits of compost use in those industries
3. Use existing information and expertise to develop Michigan industry specific toolkits
4. Develop and train champions within targeted industries to provide information and/or be a conduit for on-going education
5. Present pertinent information about compost benefits and application in each industry at trade shows and industry-specific events
6. Provide ongoing support through developed materials, webinars, champions, and other educational platforms

For more information, contact MRC Executive Director Kerrin O’Brien at kobrien@michiganrecycles.org or (517) 420-6725; you can also visit www.michiganrecycles.org/organics.