Calling All U.S. Composters!
This August, the Composting Consortium, an industry collaboration managed by Closed Loop Partners’ Center for the Circular Economy, launched the Composter Innovator Program. The program brings full-scale composters to the table to play an active role in shaping the future of the industry on topics like contamination, policy, financing, and scaling food waste composting infrastructure. The program will take consolidated industry recommendations from the field to the desks of policymakers, regulatory agencies, compostable packaging manufacturers, and brands. Together, this group will help inform critical business and policy decisions related to innovation and funding for the composting industry.
Who can join?
The Consortium is looking to partner with a diversity of full-scale* composters across the U.S. varying in size, capacity, region, technologies and composting methods. Whether you’re a composter who accepts food scraps and compostable packaging, or a composter who accepts yard debris and is considering adding food waste to your facility, the Consortium invites you to submit your interest.
Why join?
The Composter Innovator Program is an opportunity to make your voice heard and incorporate your perspective and experience, as the group works to educate policymakers, regulators and investors on composting and identify ways to scale composting infrastructure. Participation is flexible and enrollment is ongoing. The program will run from fall 2024 to summer 2026.
Our first project:
During the next two years, the program will undertake a series of small projects. The first project is a collaborative analysis to identify the cost of processing compostable packaging at compost facilities that receive these materials. The Consortium will use this data to offer insights on how Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) funds can support composting infrastructure in line with EPR plan objectives, aiming to increase funding for the composting sector.
*The Consortium adheres to BioCycle’s definition of “full-scale,” which includes commercial or municipal facilities that operate 12 months out of the year and accept/process feedstock in truckloads from generators and haulers.
Learn more about the program by reading our FAQ here.