USCC advocates are virtually walking the halls of Congress as they meet with staffs of members, both on and off the agriculture committees of both houses, to make them aware of The COMPOST Act, HR4443 and S2388.

The identical bicameral bills, calling for $2B in compost facility and program infrastructure development and on-farm compost use accepted as a USDA Conservation Practice, was introduced July 16, 2021. So far, 10 USCC member teams have met with staffs of Congressional members.

The US Composting Council is excited to invite you to attend COMPOST2022, our 30th Annual Conference and Tradeshow. With more than 90 speakers, the world's largest compost equipment demonstration, 100 exhibitors, and multiple workshops and tours, COMPOST2022 will have something for everyone! There are just over 135 days until the return of the USCC's Annual Conference and Tradeshow. COMPOST2022 will be our 30th annual event. Click here to watch the video. USCC members get exclusive early access the lowest pricing available from now until December 2.

 

We hope to see you in Austin.

By now your organization’s primary contact should have received a ballot to fill five compost manufacturer seats that will be vacant on the USCC Board of Directors for 2022.

Eight qualifying nominations have been received for those positions; the nominees are below:

 

Each year, USCC recognizes the Best of the Best in the compost manufacturing and organics recycling industries. The awards for 2021 will be presented in January 2022 at the Annual Meeting and Conference, COMPOST2022.  You must be a USCC member to submit a nomination and some awards require the nominees to be USCC members. Please read the descriptions here and on the awards application form carefully.

 

This year, we are using Proposal Space, a special software designed for accurate acceptance of award nominations. Only nominations submitted through this platform will be accepted.

You can submit your nomination at https://proposalspace.com/calls/d/1351.

 

To see past awards and all the awards categories, go to https://www.compostingcouncil.org/page/annual-awards-2021.

The deadline has been extended to November 1, 2021.

Lance Gebel has been farming and composting for the past five years. They began researching what it takes to bring healthy, safe, local food to communities and landed at a farm in Connecticut, where they fell in love with farming and composting. Life took them next to Georgia and California, where they pursued a love of the soil. They wanted to still be part of local agriculture and noticed that compost was a material that was in short supply and hard to find quality. So they then temporarily put their farming career on hold and took their current job in composting in Dallas, North Carolina. 

 

They pursued the CCOM certification to further legitimize their skills as a composter as well as the facility that they work for. The USCC has time and time again shown that they are at the forefront of the composting industry and for that I appreciate their hard work at giving credentials to individuals throughout the country.

Shiva Ahrens received her Ph.D. in Soil Biogeochemistry from Indiana University. She joined the agricultural industry in 2017, starting her career journey at Florida Crystals as a senior research scientist. Florida Crystals is a leading domestic sugar producer and North America’s first fully integrated cane sugar company, guiding its sugar from farm to table. It is America’s first and only producer of certified organic sugar that is grown and harvested in the United States. In Shiva’s role, she leads the soil fertility and plant nutrition program in the Research & Development Department. Her research seeks to increase crop production by testing and implementing sustainable practices and technologies. She is currently working on upcycling sugarcane byproducts and using them as a source of nutrients. 

 

Shiva has just received her CCOM and looks forward to being a part of the compost industry. Her vision is to “close the loop” by sending back to the farm what has been brought from the farm. Shiva is also an adjunct faculty member at Ivy Tech College, teaching Earth and Environmental Sciences with a focus on sustainability. In addition, she is passionate about and involved in the nonprofit sector. She is on the board or the steering committee of nonprofit organizations such as Take Stock in Children, Palm Beach North Chamber’s Young Professionals and Emerging Leaders Society of United Way in Palm Beach County.

A small workgroup co-led by board members Eileen Banyra and Meredith Danberg-Ficarelli has been seeking ways to increase representation of diverse genders and communities of color in USCC and on USCC’s board as our industry and nation become more diverse.

While the group has mulled numerous projects, they have taken the occasion of October as Global Diversity Awareness Month to get YOUR ideas about what issues hold back more diversity and how USCC can address them.

Plan to attend the Town Hall on Thursday, October 28 at 3 p.m. 

This month, chapters and USCC’s membership team are on a quest for new members to boost the chapters’ human and financial resources. The theme is COMPOST IS LOCAL, because so much work is done by our 13 chapters (see where they are here).

 

New members who come through the work of the Chapters, who are sharing social media posts, eblasts, and calling potential members, are being offered a 15% discount through October 31. Chapters earn 20% from the USCC for every member who joins in their state (10% for renewing members).

 

Chapters are competing for prizes they can give away as a member incentive:

1st prize= 2 nights’ hotel at COMPOST2022 (drawing-one chapter wins if they recruit 10 members, five of whom are bronze or higher)

 

2nd prize=1 preconference workshop at COMPOST2022 (drawing-one chapter wins if they recruit five members, 3 of whom are bronze or higher)

 

3rd prize= $100 USCC gift certificate (use for store, conference etc.) to each chapter who recruits at least three new members.

 

Let the Games begin!!!

Register for the USCC's Next Webinar: Insider Tips from Compost Operation Experts

Time: October 21, 2021, 3 p.m.

 

Each step of the compost operation process can bring both expectations and obstacles. Compost facilities, both small and large, can learn to overcome these challenges, by researching new strategies and gaining fresh perspectives. In the upcoming USCC webinar “Insider Tips From Compost Operation Experts,” on October 21 at 3 p.m., four industry professionals from various size operations will dive into important experiences that helped drive their successes.

The YPG quarterly meeting is to be held on October 13 at 12 p.m. ET. Click the link here to join. If you would like to attend the Quarterly meetings and update yourself on what’s happening in the YP front contact Kristine Ellsworth Steering committee Chair.

 

Volunteer Committee is revamped, and they had their kick-off meeting last month. The committee is actively looking to do a community project during the COMPOST2022 conference at Austin Texas. If there is a community project lead please reach out to Gowri Sundaram.

·        Jana Pearce Committee Chair

·        Aaron Friedman

·        Sam Laveson

·        Eric Schneider 

Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE: RSG) today announced the opening of California's first fully solar-powered compost facility, which will recycle food and yard waste from the San Diego region. Republic's new Otay Compost Facility in Chula Vista, Calif., will help communities meet the requirements of a new state law mandating diversion of organic waste from landfills, while operating completely off the grid.

 

"Republic Services has made a long-term commitment to increase the recycling and circularity of key materials like organics from the waste stream," said Pete Keller, vice president of recycling and sustainability. "Recycling organic waste into compost is one of the many ways we're providing sustainable solutions to our customers in the San Diego region, and we continue to invest in organics infrastructure across California."

Rotochopper has added the 365R Tracked Radial Stacking Conveyor to their product offering. The addition of the 365R Conveyor is just one of the products that Rotochopper has recently added as they continue to expand the equipment they offer to meet the material handling needs of their customers. “As we continue to look for ways that Rotochopper can help our customers streamline their operational processes and improve their bottom lines, the 365R Conveyor is a great addition to our product offering. We are excited to provide this conveyor option to our customers”, shared Nicole Klein, Marketing Manager for Rotochopper.

 

The 365R allows for effortless stacking of product with a radial on timer and automatic oscillation to smoothly blend the pile. The radial stacking along with easy tracked positioning creates efficiencies and time savings by minimizing repositioning needs. Meister’s Forest Products, Inc. recently purchased a 365R. “The addition of Rotochopper’s new 365R Stacking Conveyor has allowed us to capitalize on the full production capabilities of our Rotochopper FP-66 horizontal grinder more effectively. The 365R is very impressive. It is easy on fuel, simple to operate and is saving us time and product space every day”, shared Cody Meister.

 

The 365R features a 36” wide belt with a 65ft radial and a 30ft discharge height. Minimize the need for additional handling and supporting equipment with the 365R Tracked Radial Stacking Conveyor. Also available is the 480R Conveyor, which is equipped with an 80ft radial stacker and 48” wide belt. To learn more about Rotochopper’s Conveyor equipment, please visit our website at www.Rotochopper.com

World Centric® announced today that it has expanded its NoTree® collection of 100% tree-free, bio-based and compostable packaging with seventeen new products. Now available across North America, the expanded range provides more sustainable alternatives to traditional disposable foodservice ware for operators. As with all items in the NoTree collection, the new product additions are made of renewable plant fibers like bamboo and sugarcane with bio-based moisture barrier linings instead of petroleum plastic. They are also heat lamp tolerant, warming oven friendly, and are suitable for hot or cold foods. All NoTree items are 100% compostable in commercial composting facilities.

 

“We created the NoTree line with the goal of removing environmentally harmful materials from disposable foodservice ware to help benefit people and our planet,” said Mark Stephany, World Centric Senior Vice President of Sales. “Most kraft and

With the deadline fast approaching, it’s time to enter one of the two ICAW contests.  Both will end on November 1, with the winners being announced the first week of December.  The poster contest is open to anyone age 14 and older from anywhere in the world. The video contest is for ages 10-13, and again is an international contest.  Both contests focus on highlighting the 2022 theme, Recipe for Regeneration: Compost.  Learn more about the contests and how to enter https://compostfoundation.org/ICAW/ICAW-Poster-Contest.

 

Also, there is limited space left for new ICAW sponsors.  Only a certain number of logos can fit on the poster.  If you are considering being a sponsor, don’t hesitate.  Contact Beth Simone, bethsimone@compostfoundation.org if you want to learn more about sponsorship opportunities.

By Jennifer Somers

DAVENPORT, Iowa – When Scott County residents put their yard waste out at the curb, what exactly happens once it's collected? After a more-than-50-day process at the Davenport Compost Facility, it becomes nutrient-rich compost, mulch, soil and other products fit for any lawn and garden endeavor.

Each year through its collection of biosolids* and yard waste, the facility is able to:

 - Divert over 1 million pounds of waste from the landfill
 - Produce more than 30,000 cubic yards of compost
- Sell about 18,000 bags of its own product

By Nora Goldstein

The Soils For Salmon program, initiated in 1999 by the Washington Organic Recycling Council and Snohomish County, was designed to address the harmful impacts of storm water runoff on salmon habitat, primarily into streams that feed into the Puget Sound in western Washington. The streams serve as spawning grounds for the salmon.

By Gary Robinson

In the 1960s, General Electric released an infomercial for an innovation set to transform the way Americans disposed of their waste. "Goodbye to Garbage" flashes up on screen, and we see an actress standing in a pristine kitchen attempting to wrap food waste in newspaper to take it to the trash.