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 From the Top of the Pile
COMPOST USE
The importance of engagement and training was a key message of the second annual Drawdown Learn Conference, sponsored by the Omega Institute, a nonprofit educational center, in partnership with the nonprofit climate organization Project Drawdown. The conference brought together high school students, teachers, indigenous leaders, policy experts, librarians and scientists.
Businesses in D.C. could have to start composting their food scraps under a bill introduced this week in the D.C. Council. That’s just one of the items in the legislation aimed at drastically reducing waste in the District.
One of the biggest modern myths about agriculture is that organic farming is inherently sustainable. It can be, but it isn’t necessarily. After all, soil erosion from chemical-free tilled fields undermined the Roman Empire and other ancient societies around the world. Other agricultural myths hinder recognizing the potential to restore degraded soils to feed the world using fewer agrochemicals.
San Francisco is often the poster child of compostable packaging. Polystyrene is banned, and restaurants are required to use compostable or recyclable containers and utensils. With supportive regulations, savvy consumers and access to composting infrastructure, compostable packaging should be a slam dunk, right?
Member Benefits
Advocacy is routinely checked off as the top reason why people join USCC in the past four bi-annual member surveys. This is accomplished for you in several ways, including the work of the Legislative and Environmental Affairs Committee, meetings with the EPA and Biodegradable Products Institute on key issues and the development of additional chapters around the country.
MEMBER NEWS
Living Earth announced their new chief executive officer, Eoin Lehane. Mark Rose, former CEO, is now vice chairman of Living Earth’s Board of Directors. Eoin most recently served as president for Oldcastle National Construction Products, having transitioned to the business after leading various businesses within Oldcastle, including Oldcastle Lawn & Garden.
Green Mountain Technologies announced that U.S. patent number 10414696 has been issued for both its radial and circular composting systems. The primary benefit of the new designs is to improve handling efficiency and reduce the footprint for large aerated composting systems. Gina McCarthy, the former EPA administrator under President Barack Obama, was named president and CEO of the Natural Resources Defense Council on Nov. 5. McCarthy brings increased visibility to this USCC member, which is one of the nation’s largest environmental groups, as NRDC has 3 million members. We thank all of our members who replied to a survey in early fall that helped to guide the board of directors in developing our newest strategic plan. A lucky winner was drawn from the completed surveys: congratulations to Kristen Baskin of Let Us Compost, who receives a complimentary pass to COMPOST2020.
Nebraska Recycling Council (NRC) welcomes Heather Creevan as the new executive director. She has been serving as deputy director for NRC and has been an integral part of the organization since before the merger of WasteCap Nebraska and Nebraska State Recycling Association to become the Nebraska Recycling Council in 2017. NRC will miss former executive director Julie Diegel, as she retires this year. OPPORTUNITIES, JOBS AND GRANTS
As part of Michigan State University Extension and the Agriculture and Agribusiness Institute, the compost systems extension educator provides local as well as statewide leadership and educational programming expertise in agricultural, commercial and municipal compost systems. This position will collaborate across work teams, Institutes and community groups and work with faculty, specialists and educators for advancement of the needs of the clientele.
CREF NEWS
For the past several years, the Composting Council Research and Education Foundation (CCREF) has been working with BSIbio to create a standardized method for compost manufacturers to test the disintegration of compostable packaging in their existing processes and develop a database of real-world disintegration results.
Upcoming Events
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