USCC’s team has worked hard to bring you current recommendations and information about how the compost industry is coping with the pandemic. We have communicated comments from the experts on compost biology and pathogens, site management, and health and safety, along with the experiences of the collection community. In most areas we are seeing a slowdown in food scrap generation and some municipal yard waste facilities have limited their collection. We have also surveyed the industry to get a bigger picture of impacts so we can target our recommendations and information at the fast-changing, real-time effects of the emergency.

We hope you will review the information and use it to help guide your decisions, and share them with us through the Member Portal and Compost Facility Discussion Group, which you can find by logging in to your member account and going to QUICKLINKS in the green menu bar.

Our members are constantly in our thoughts as they work hard to fulfill their responsibilities in this crisis, and we wish you and your loved ones, as well as all Americans, a healthy and safe future.

– Frank Franciosi

The COVID-19 pandemic is forcing several changes to USCC’s certification program. 

• For those of you in the application pipeline, while you can reach the point of approval for the certification test, the test centers themselves are closed, unfortunately.
• For those who are certified needing continuing education credits (Professional Development Hours) the main source of PDHs has always been going to conferences, where 10-20+ credits can be earned in a short amount of time. Nearly half of those who are currently certified received their credential as part of the beta program, which means  your renewal is due this month or in May.  Because all conferences planned for spring have been cancelled, there is no way to earn PDHs quickly. The Certification Commission has decided to extend the deadline for earning the required number of credits for renewal to June 30.

All  renewal dates and maintenance fee due dates have also been moved to the last day of the month for administrative reasons. That means, if your credential was expiring April 2, you now have until April 30 to renew, and until June 30 to earn the 30 PDHs required. Alternatively, you have until that date (June 30) to pay to retake the certification test in lieu of earned the 30 credits.

USCC and the Composting Council Research and Education Foundation’s ICAW (International Compost Awareness Week) program kicked off a new campaign that gives us all something beneficial to our marketing and good news to disseminate: use compost in your Victory Garden!

The gardening craze is a positive that has come from the unfortunate COVID-19 emergency as Americans who are staying home choose to spend more time outside in the garden.

We want to be sure our homeowners are using compost, so help us by using these free resources (social media posts, eblast templates, seed and gardening links, and Public Service Announcements) we have created for you to help us get out the word.

Fabri-Kal is producing medical face shields for local health care workers. In less than one week, the Fabri-Kal team quickly came together to develop a plan to meet this critical need. Fabri-Kal, Schupan & Sons and Tekna went from prototype to production on face shields that will be provided to workers treating patients impacted by the coronavirus. Fabri-Kal is producing the plastic shields in its Kalamazoo, Michigan, technical center. The first batch of face shields is planned to arrive later this week at health care facilities located in southwest Michigan. Click here to read more.

Organization: Bioenergy Innovation Center
City: Seaford
Location: Delaware
Type of Position: Full-Time
Education Requirement: Bachelor's
Experience Requirement: 3-5 Years
Description & Details: BioEnergy is seeking a passionate, driven, and hardworking Compost Facility Operator for our recently acquired composting facility, located near Seaford, Delaware. This 225-acre facility, which includes an operational industrial compost facility, was recently acquired and will be developed into a cornerstone to our growing business. The Compost Facility Operator will assume main responsibility for the composting facility, including managing staff that are, in turn, responsible for facility operation, maintenance, worker safety, and administration. The Compost Facility Operator will be responsible for recordkeeping and reporting required by our operating permits. The ideal candidate will be results-driven, comfortable rolling up their sleeves, and capable of interacting with individuals at all levels of the organization. In addition to the composting facility, this site will also house a new anaerobic digestion facility, which will be built in 2020-2021. The successful candidate will be exposed to this innovative AD technology and could potentially take on oversight of the AD facility once it is completed.

The message is still the same even if the way of celebrating International Compost Awareness Week (ICAW) is changing!

Traditionally, we encourage group activities and events during the week of ICAW. Due to COVID-19 social distancing mandates, though, plans for ICAW have shifted toward social media, Zoom, videos, email blasts and other creative ways to share the program’s goal of building awareness on the benefits of compost use and organics recycling are being planned by ICAW coordinators across the country.

Just take a look at the ICAW pages on compostfoundation.org website. You will find a page listing ideas for promoting ICAW 2020, as well as a form people can submit sharing what you plan to do for ICAW this year. If you have interesting plans or short educational videos on compost, or even some great photos from your facility, home composting, garden, etc., send them in so they can be shared! Here's the link: www.compostfoundation.org/icaw-get-involved-events or email to info@compostfoundation.org!

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