As the range and number of compostable products continues to grow compost manufacturers are coming under increasing pressure to process them, whether it makes good business sense or not. To help composters understand what these products are, the different types, how they are certified as compostable, the current regulations and the immediate future, the US Composting Council (USCC) has released "Compostable Products: A Primer for Compost Manufacturers," written by Biocycle Associates.

The release is part of a month long "conference" on compostable products this summer. The Conference consists of two educational workshops, June 17 and 24, and a Summit on July 15. All events are online. The workshops delve into the science, history, current status, testing and labeling of compostables, and look at how some of the big issues, like associated contamination and additional costs, are being managed. The Summit will feature a panel of experienced compost manufacturers and will explore the key question "should I accept compostable products at my facility" and what are the consequences of deciding one way or another.

The Summit will also coincide with the release of the second publication on the topic, a "Decision-Making Guide on Accepting or Rejecting Compostable Products," including a decision tree and set of worksheets to help current and future composters.

"Compostable products can help divert more food scraps, reducing greenhouse gases and increasing the total amount of compost available to help increase healthy soils and carbon sequestion," explains Frank Franciosi, Executive Director of the USCC. "On the other hand, accepting them opens the door to more plastic contamination, increases processing costs, and limits the number of markets the compost can be sold to. Composters have to weigh the costs and benefits. We have developed this series to help compost manufacturers understand their options."

The new Primer can be downloaded from the USCC website here: https://www.compostingcouncil.org/page/CompostableProductsPrimer

For more info on the Conference, go here: https://www.compostingcouncil.org/page/Composters-Conference-on-Compostable-Products

Vermeer Corporation, a global manufacturer of composting, industrial and agricultural equipment and longtime member of the US Composting Council (USCC), is providing critical financial support to launch the US Composting Council's new system for online learning.

The platform, called a Learning Management System (LMS) and to be named "Compost U," will enable the USCC and the Compost Research and Education Foundation (CREF) to significantly expand online training and industry education offerings. This LMS will enable the USCC to expand its training for state chapters as they grow.

Vermeer Corporation, founded in 1948,  has an international reputation for delivering high quality equipment and support to customers in more than 60 countries. With a focus on safety and service, Vermeer recognizes the need for a more comprehensive education on compost operations. In addition to being the exclusive sponsor of the LMS platform Vermeer will be providing key content for the LMS, including but not limited to educational resources related to safety and equipment maintenance.

As the compost industry expands nationally there is great demand for trained and certified compost operators and professionals who run safe, efficient, neighbor- and environment-friendly operations. Vermeer’s sponsorship of the launch of Compost U will help USCC and CREF to train the next generation of compost professionals.

Compost U will be hosted on Freestone LMS by Community Brands, the current host of the USCC's membership database and website.

The USCC's professional credential programs now boasts nearly 100 Certified Compost Operation Managers (CCOMs) and Certified Composting Professionals (CCPs). Each certified individual must participate in continuing education totaling 30 Professional Development Hours (PDHs) every three years. Compost U will be tied into the USCC’s database so that certificants’  PDHs will be automatically tracked through the certificants’ personal account.

USCC and CREF training and education resources, such as conference talks, webinars, short classes and new longer advanced courses will be integrated into Compost U, providing rich and meaningful content. Compost U will be launched by the end of the fall.

The USCC needs your help!
 
Many composters and individuals involved in manure or biosolids management and anaerobic digestion, as well as farmers and turf managers, are familiar with the concern regarding the overapplication of phosphorus and/or the migration of phosphorus into our water resources. Obviously, this issue should be taken seriously so that we can protect drinking water, reduce surface water contamination (eutrification) and conserve an important nutrient required for plant growth (and food production). That stated, organic forms of phosphorus, such as compost and biosolids (and certain manures), contain low levels of water extractable phosphate (WEP), but increasingly are regulated like inorganic P sources.
 
This technical information, a WEP test method and viable labeling changes have been suggested to AAPFCO over the past two years. If you would like to support these efforts, please click onto the BioCycle links to review more detailed information, and then contact Ron Alexander (at the contacts below) before June 15, 2021. We need letters of support from the industry to illustrate to AAPFCO that there is support for our initiative.

 
May 2011 Biocycle Connect Article: Recycled Organic Products and Phosphorus
November 2016 Biocycle Article: Phosphorus And Compost Use Dynamics

Mike Larrivee is a licensed professional geologist and general manager for Atlas Organics Composting and Hauling Operations. He received a master of science degree from the Earth Science Department at the University of Memphis and continued his postgraduate academic training as a William J. Fulbright Scholarship Award Winner in Latvia. In 2019, Mike became the vice president of the Tennessee Chapter of the US Composting Council. He is the founder and former executive director of Compost Fairy, a non-profit waste diversion and soil rehabilitation effort, founded in Memphis in 2017. Compost Fairy won the Excellence in Green Business Award from the Tennessee Urban Forestry Council for 2018 and the Governor’s Environmental Stewardship Award in 2019. Hear from Mike:

Why I chose to pursue the Certified Compost Operations Manager Certification ...

"The CCOM certification is important for my professional development and allows me to communicate to the composting community that Atlas is committed to providing the training necessary to our leadership to maintain high standards of production in the field and consistently produce outstanding products. We value our partnership with USCC and the resources and knowledge they provide."

Matt Ball is the compost facility operator at the North Carolina State University Compost Facility and Research Cooperative. The facility is located at the NCSU Lake Wheeler Road Field Lab and processes all food waste collected at the university as well as animal bedding from the School of Veterinary Medicine, greenhouse material from the College of Agriculture and Life Science, and wood chips generated on campus. The facility also serves as a living learning lab where students can regularly tour and learn about composting and faculty can use its resources for their own research.

Matt was hired as the facility operator in July 2019, just prior to its official opening.  Before starting with NCSU Waste Reduction and Recycling, Matt worked for NCSU’s Center for Environmental Farming Systems where his focus was on organic crop research and extension. Prior to that, Matt spent years managing an organic vegetable farm in Orange County, NC, where he first started making and utilizing compost.

He lives in Wake Forest, NC.

Why I chose to pursue the Certified Compost Operations Manager Certification...

"I just think that if there is a reputable professional certification that’s available in your field, it’s a good idea to pursue it. It can be a catalyst in your career and it helps to build the industry you’re a part of. The Certified Compost Operations Manager certification exemplifies all of this."

Marcus Zbinden, chair of the USCC Zoning Task Force, and Advocacy Director Linda Norris-Waldt presented the draft Model Zoning Ordinance at the Vermont Organics and Recycling Summit in May. The task force wants to make more presentations about the USCC’s zoning work this fall. If you know of a group that is interested, contact Linda Norris Waldt at lnorriswaldt@compostingcouncil.org.

Mentoring Committee Update
Mentoring applications have been well received. Thanks to those of you who chose to be a mentor in guiding an upcoming industry professional. We are very grateful to you for sharing your knowledge and precious time.

Kudos to the wonderful Mentoring Committee chair Shelby Hoglund and committee members Antoine Abou Moussa, Natasha Dyer and Claire Dakhlia’s dedication in the arduous task of matching mentors and mentees. Watch out for the mentor matching emails in your inbox soon!

Save the Date - Next YPG Webinar in July
YPG Webinar Committee’s first webinar for the year is in the works. Save the date in your calendar - July 22,11:30-12:30 ET. Watch for a totally new topic the YPs chose to bring to light. Webinar topic and speakers’ details are forthcoming.

YP membership scholarship available
Application for the YP membership scholarship will be going live this week. Are you in the 18-35 age group? Ready to step into the composting industry? This is one good opportunity for you. Fill out the scholarship application form that is available in the Young Professionals page.

The marketing/sales lead will demonstrate a positive role model as a representative of Bio Town Ag, Inc. Responsibilities will include management of all marketing and sales efforts initially, and as sales grow, supervision of others on the marketing/sales team.
 
Apply:
https://www.compostingcouncil.org/networking/apply_now.aspx?view=2&id=656290
 
Get your hands on the latest in compost and sustainability jobs — take a look at the job postings from our member organizations on our website.
 
Plus, your membership gives you the benefit of posting jobs on our Career Center for free. It's easy, so why not take advantage of it?
 
How to post a job on the USCC website:
 
Step 1: In your membership account go to Account + Settings
Step 2: Click Content & Features
Step 3: Submit an Opening
 
Have questions? Contact Gowri Sundaram at gsundaram@compostingcouncil.org.

Established in 2016, the Compostable Field Testing Program (CFTP) is a non-profit collaboration between the CREF and BSIbio Packaging Solutions/BÉSICS (BSIbio) to field test compostable foodware across North America. The CFTP is a multi-year research project helping conduct on-the-ground field testing at active organics processing facilities. The program provides the test materials and method for any aerobic operator who wants to field test, and compiles results across facilities. The program enables compost manufacturers to answer their own questions about how specific materials may work in their operations, and at the same time contribute to a larger, broader understanding throughout the industry by submitting their data to the CFTP database. Once enough facilities participate, the anonymized results will be made available open-source. You can find more information on this program, and watch our one-hour webinar, via the CREF website: https://www.compostfoundation.org/FieldTesting.

To help deal with the issue of getting good samples for testing, CREF created two videos demonstrating the steps that should be taken in order to send compost samples to a lab for analysis. Both of these videos are available on the CREF website for free: https://www.compostfoundation.org/Education/Sampling-Videos.

The videos were created as a guide to help with the sampling process. The accuracy of the laboratory analysis depends almost entirely on the quality of the sample submitted, and, particularly, how representative the sample is of a typical batch (up to 5000 cubic yards). Knowledge on how to properly take samples, and handle the preparation of the sample for analysis, is crucial to getting a reliable analysis, which is the basis for whether and how the compost will be used. The goal of the videos is to be a visual guide that can be used as a continual reference for current and future employees. Also available on the CREF website is the Sampling Reference Guide, which is downloadable and can serve as a reference for facility employees while in the field.

Thanks to the amazing generosity of so many at COMPOST2020, we were able to start a new research project: Development of Compost Application ROI Library, which was started in 2020 when Ron Alexander, of R. Alexander Associates, Inc., was hired to do the work. The goal of the project is to assist companies that sell compost with information that can increase sales leading to greater compost use. Since then, Ron has been focused on the following:

1. Interviewing U.S. companies that sell compost to understand current marketing efforts.

2. Identifying data needed to support their efforts to inform their clients.

3. Selecting 10 target applications.

4. Reviewing published studies that address the target applications and interviewing experts with knowledge regarding the target applications.

5. Developing compost application data sheets for selected applications.

The plan is to have the ten application data sheets ready by the 2022 USCC annual conference. When that is completed, the CREF board of trustees will review whether a second phase of this project is needed, expanding the number of applications.