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 From the Top of the Pile
I’m really proud of the YP Program and how far it has come over the past eight years. It started back in 2012 and USCC staff member Leanne Spaulding and Gary Nihart of Atlas Organics. I was President of the Council at that time and realized that our membership was aging out. We really needed to get more YPs involved in our industry. Leanne and Gary started it all by organizing an after-hours social at COMPOST2012. This then blossomed over the years to one of the best networking events at our annual conference. I haven’t missed one since then. In 2014, Linda Norris-Waldt picked up working with the YPs when Leanne left the USCC and was instrumental in broadening the program to include a mentor-mentee as a part of the program. YPs also have worked on community service projects before our conference as a means of giving back to the local community by building compost bins and working in community gardens. This along with the Emerging Composter Challenge and now the Conference Poster Session has grown the involvement of YPs in our industry. In 2017, the YP’s established a Leadership Group that acts as the steering committee for the YP Program. Megan Hester, our resident YP, is now the USCC staff assigned to work with the YP Leadership. This year the mentor-mentee program has grown to 32 pairs. Thanks to the leadership team of Gowri Sundarasaram (Mentoring Chair), Kristine Ellsworth (Steering Committee), Felipe Pedrazzi (Webinar Committee), Shelby Hoglund (Volunteer Project Chair), Isaac Bearg (outgoing Emerging Composter Chair), and Patrick Evans (incoming Emerging Composter Chair). We encourage other Young Professionals to join! Learn more at www.compostingcouncil.org/youngprofessionalsprogram.
USCC NEWS
The USCC is pleased to welcome Eric Hudiburg to the USCC staff. Eric will be working as our Communications & Marketing Manager. This position is responsible for planning, developing, implementing and overseeing the strategic communications and marketing strategy of USCC. This includes communication and branding of the organization’s brand; increasing, retaining and engaging the organizations membership; and strategically planning, overseeing and executing the organization’s marketing strategy for all its programs, events, products and member services. He will be the staff liaison for the Membership & Market Development Committee. USCC is Hiring – Part-Time Administrative Assistant This Raleigh, NC-based position is part time with flexible hours. The Administrative Assistant is a key staff member dedicated to supporting the operations of the organization, with special attention paid to recordkeeping, logistics and clerical support as directed by the Executive Director and USCC Staff. Typical workweek of 15-30 hours; may increase or decrease depending on seasonal needs.
By Ron Alexander
Dr. Eliot Epstein passed away on Sunday May 17, 2020 at the age of 91. Eliot was a devoted husband to his beloved wife Esther for 69 years, a wonderful father to his three children, Beth, Jonathan and Lisa, and grandfather to three grandchildren and one great-grandchild. This is who he was to his family, but to many of us, he was one of the grandfathers of the U.S. composting industry.
Eliot was the President and Chief Scientist at E&A Environmental Consultants, Inc. He received his M.S. from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst in Soil Science and his Ph.D. from Purdue University in Agronomy. He became an internationally recognized expert in the field of organic waste material utilization, directing numerous projects for government and industry, including the development of the Aerated Static Pile Compost System, otherwise known as “The Beltsville Process,” for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. He was also one of the founding members of the US Composting Council, and was appointed as a Board Member Emeritus.
By Nora Goldstein
We recently learned that Dr. Lester (Les) Kuhlman passed away in April. Les introduced his compost turner – branded as King of the Windrow – in 1975. His company, Resource Recovery Systems International (RRSI), had its origins in the agricultural market, where he already was working as a composting consultant to feedlots and other animal agricultural operations. Born in 1935, Les received a B.S. in Animal Science from Iowa State University, and an M.S. in Animal Nutrition and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Oklahoma State University.
From Philadelphia to St. Louis and all over the country we are celebrating World Green Roof Day. These spaces bring the outdoors to urban environments and provide therapy to patients and residents alike.
King County, WA, is a leader in many things when it comes to organics recycling, and this is one of them. Emily Coleman, Sustainable Purchasing Specialist, writes about their comprehensive procurement program for compost. Read the Soilbuilder Blog post here.
As business owners know, it’s important to stay agile and be financially savvy in order to run a successful operation. One way to do that? Diversify your offerings. And for landscapers, compost might be the perfect solution.
“We have many members who started out as landscapers but began a composting facility when they realized that they a) could use the material they were sending to the landfill for their own commercial uses, b) there was a revenue stream left on the table, or c) they wanted to be part of a movement to build healthy soil,” said Linda Norris Waldt of the U.S. Composting Council. 
ADVOCACY AND PUBLIC POLICY BRIEFS
New Jersey Recycled Content Bill USCC is recommending that Sen. Bob Smith’s bill, SB2515 requiring recycled content in plastic containers and bags exempt compostable products with ASTM D-6400 or BPI certification since it is difficult to recycle PLA resins found in most of the products. Michigan Solid Waste Definitions A suite of bills is in hearings in Michigan this week that would better define compost facility sizes, feedstocks and provide the state with more financial assurance tools for “bad actors” whose compost facilities must be closed. USCC is signing onto a letter of the Pro Recycling Business Alliance supporting the bills. To see more of the business being considered by the Legislative and Environmental Affairs Committee, visit our Advocacy Alerts and Announcements page. COMPOST USE
So please be prompt renewing! We’ve done what we can to help you by contacting you frequently and through a variety of methods. And in the original email notification we sent you, you will find your information from last year to reference. Contact Hilary Nichols with questions about the program or to get an additional copy of your old information. July 1 our STA Participant List gets updated with who has completed ALL the steps – fill out the contract renewal, update regulation compliance (permit) info, and pay STA Certified Compost invoice. The invoice is only placed on your authorized contact person’s account after the first two steps. After that deadline, there is an additional $100 late fee added to your invoice. Contact Megan Hester with questions about your renewal status.
Have you joined the rejuvenated Victory Garden movement? Millions of Americans who are sheltering in place due to the current COVID-19 restrictions have turned to their gardens for exercise, family activity, healthy produce and fun! Compost is an essential ingredient to a successful Victory Garden, providing nutrients and organic matter to replenish tired soil. Even if you are unable to get soil tests, a 5% compost-to-soil ratio will help your garden flourish! In 1944, an estimated 20 million victory gardens produced more than 40% of all the fresh fruits and vegetables eaten. Growing a Victory Garden is a great way to sustain your family, community, and the planet.
The Landscape for the Lakes campaign aims to increase the diversion of organics to compost manufacturing in Michigan by promoting the use of organics end products to targeted industries, and providing technical information about compost application to meet specified needs. With this grant, the MOC would build understanding about the opportunities and benefits of compost use by promoting existing and developing new industry-specific tools for Michigan. The Michigan Recycling Coalition/Michigan Organics Council Michigan Chapter plans to use champions and local experts to share information and resources within targeted industries. The MOC also shares the USCC’s goals of bringing on more composters in Michigan that manufacture compost products that are Seal of Testing Assurance (STA) certified. The USCC shares these same goals and has developed end market resources for members and state chapters to use and distribute in order to support the composting industry nationwide. Our resources have resulted from over thirty years of industry experience and we are proud to have our state chapters, such as the MOC, as a partner to promote the use of compost to benefit the soil, control erosion, and build green stormwater infrastructure. The US Composting Council is proud to have created resources that help in grant applications such as this one. The USCC continuously improves and adds to resources we offer in support of the compost industry.
If your organization is interested in partnering to reach out to specifiers, please contact Hilary Nichols, USCC Market Development Coordinator. Member Benefits
Your guide to products and services! USCC has opened the first-phase beta version of an online Buyers Guide to Products and Services. In it, you can look up members who provide heavy equipment, collection equipment, and related products by clicking on The Compost Pages under the ENGAGE tab of the website. This benefit, for now, is free (in 2021 we hope to unveil a robust Buyers Guide complete with ads, videos and other opportunities to showcase and sell products) to members only. By the end of June we will be adding CONSULTANTS to the directory, and in July we will add COMPOSTABLE PRODUCTS as well.
YOUNG PROFESSIONALS
MEMBER NEWS
Headquartered in Avon, Ohio, Ecoverse delivers a full line of environmental processing equipment including BACKHUS compost turners and Backers star screens. To join Ecoverse as a sponsor at #COMPOST2021, visit compostconference.com/sponsorship-opportunities.
Landscape contractors and yards are a frequent customer of Caterpillar, a USCC Sustaining member. The CAT team recently published a blog about how compatible the composting business is to landscaping contractors.
As many of you are aware, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) published a report in August of 2019 titled, "The Significance of Environmental Attributes as Indicators of the Life Cycle Environmental Impacts of Packaging and Food Service Ware." DEQ wanted to test the assumption that there is a relationship between certain attributes associated with packaging and food service ware and reduced environmental impacts. One of the four attributes they examined was "Compostable". Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) is often used in reports like this one. While LCA studies are perceived to be precise and objective exercises, they are only as good as their input data and assumptions. BPI Members with expertise in LCA methodology have reviewed the DEQ report (and the LCA studies it assessed), and provided a response to DEQ's conclusions for the "Compostable" attribute. Click here for a PDF of the Background and Summary Points. Click here for a PDF of the Complete Response Document. Click here to see where this information lives on the BPI Website. USCC’s membership year ends on Tuesday, June 30! Be sure and log into your account and RENEW NOW so your benefits won’t lapse. Click here to get to your account. If you’ve forgotten your user name, contact Linda Norris-Waldt; if you’re forgotten your password, hit FORGOT PASSWORD and look for the rest email (which may go to your spam folder). You’ll find a link in your account where you can renew online, or use our ACH system, which you can find here. Please welcome these new members to the US Composting Council! Table to Farm Compost OPPORTUNITIES, JOBS AND GRANTS
View the job posting here. CREF NEWS
ICAW committee member, Amy Freeman, pictured right, has agreed to take on the committee chair role. Amy brings a wealth of experience to this role. She is the Organics Maven and Composting Specialist with Country Oaks Landscape Supply and Composting and with Iris Waste Diversion Specialists, Inc. She is the Composting Technician with the Michigan Food and Farming System (MIFFS) Women in Agriculture Farm Development Center, and is also an active member of the Michigan Organics Council, and is currently a mentor for the USCC Young Professionals. IN THE HEADLINESWith curbside pickup shut down for over a year and community compost facility running out of funds, the state of NYC compost is dire amid coronavirus. The USCC's own Frank Franciosi talks with ICN about aerobic composting and the vital importance of keeping food waste out of the landfill.
Vermont has long modeled legislation that is worth emulating. Now Vermont is the eighth state with some kind of landfill ban.
Upcoming Events
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I had the opportunity to attend a Young Professionals (YPs) virtual happy hour a couple of weeks ago. Yes, they do allow one or two Old Professionals (OPs) at their meetings. I believe that they appreciate some of my baby boomer humor and conversation, at least that was what I perceived. I really enjoyed hearing about the work that they are doing in their professional lives, as well as how they are spending their COVID-19 social distancing free time.
Introducing New Communications Staff
Circular economy, Closing the Loop, or just plain selling compost – whatever you call it – it’s one of the most important things on which the compost industry needs to focus.
USCC is asking all members in the coming week to take part in our campaign to flood the U.S. EPA with requests to severely restrict Clopyralid, one of several persistent herbicides that have dogged our industry for more than a decade. They were designed by pesticide companies to kill broadleaf weeds, but live on through the compost process, affecting plants of compost customers who use affected compost. The U.S. EPA’s process for delisting these pesticides (or modifying their allowed use) has been going on since 2014 when US EPA opened the comment period. We will need your help! (Watch for an email with the information on Monday.)
Reminder STA Certified Compost renewals are due by the end of this month! We know you need to be on the STA Participant List and get your lab test results on STA-branded forms. Those are what land you the big 
The US Composting Council is excited to be partnering with the member 
The US Composting Council is pleased to support the 
Mentoring chair Gowri Somasundaram (pictured), committee members Natasha Dyer and Shelby Hoglund, along with the USCC staff Megan Hester and Linda Norris worked on the application matching. There were a record-breaking number of mentee applications this year! It was challenging, and several meetings were held to arrive at the right mentoring pair combination. A note of gratitude to the mentors who did express their willingness to share their valuable knowledge and time for the upcoming professionals. Thanks to state chapters for their vast reach out in mentor seeking endeavors. A "meet & greet" webinar was held on June 11 with the 2020 mentoring pairs to officially kickstart the program this year.
The USCC is pleased to announce our headline sponsor ECOVERSE for COMPOST2021 in Ontario, California, January 26-29 2021.
Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust, and Earth to Earth with Adamah.
After many years of chairing the ICAW committee, Teri Sorg-McManamon, pictured left, decided to step down from that role. Teri dedicated an amazing amount of time and effort to helping the program grow throughout the years. Her dedication to ICAW is greatly appreciated by all the ICAW committee members, ICAW volunteers and the CCREF Board of Trustees and staff.
