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| Past Issues | Subscribe | Send to a Friend | compostingcouncil.org | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 From the Top of the Pile
By Frank Franciosi, Executive Director
Last month, the USCC was awarded a grant of $4.4 million as part of the USDA's 2023 Conservation Innovation Grants. This significant investment will fund the "Comparative and Ongoing Compost Application Trials to Guide and Incentivize Best Use" project, aimed at enhancing compost application practices across diverse agricultural systems.
Our industry has long known about the benefits of compost application on soil health and water-holding capacity. Whereas good data does exist to support these claims, more data, guidance and information dissemination will only bolster our industry even more and further promote compost use. Soil health is a key component of our mission, and we are emboldened by this dedication of funds to assist with solidifying compost’s connection to conserving our soil.
Click the button below for the project overview.
USCC NEWS
Six seats are open for election to the 2025 Board of Directors, which is seated January 1, 2025, for three-year terms for five compost manufacturers and one affiliate.
You must be a USCC member in good standing to nominate a candidate for the board of directors. You also must submit a short video introducing yourself and your goals for the industry along with your nomination form.
Interested in running? Click the button below for more information.
This month has seen significant changes in our staff. We welcomed our new compost market manager Sam Dixon, and some of our staff received well-deserved new titles that better reflect their contributions and responsibilities with the USCC. Marketing and membership manager Eric Hudiburg is now the USCC's marketing and communications director, and search marketing specialist Hessa Al Maghlouth is now the USCC's industry research & chapter relations manager.
Click the button below to learn more about Sam and these staff updates.
The National Organic Standards Board will be making a final determination on the petition request by USCC Member Biodegradable Products Institute to add a definition for “compost feedstocks” to the organic regulations and replace the references to “plant and animal materials” with “compost feedstocks.”
USCC’s board of directors would like to know your position on this request.
The US Composting Council and the US Biochar Initiative are proud to announce the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement to establish a formal partnership. This collaboration aims to enhance soil health, water quality, and sustainability through the combined use of compost and biochar.
The partnership is designed to leverage the strengths of both organizations in achieving shared environmental goals.
When people think of diverting food waste, one of the first things that often comes to mind is food rescue. Also known as food recovery, food rescue is the practice of collecting fresh, edible food that would have otherwise gone to waste from restaurants, grocers, and other food establishments and distributing it to local social service agencies. Although composting generally is considered once food is no longer edible, composting and food rescue ultimately share the same goal: diverting food waste from landfills and reducing harmful emissions.
Featuring Stephanie Katsaros from Bright Beat and Randy Rosens from FoodRescueDude, this webinar will explore how composters and food rescue organizations can collaborate to reduce food waste. Learn about the role of composters and haulers in redirecting edible food and discover strategies to connect composting efforts with food rescue operations.
ADVOCACY AND PUBLIC POLICY BRIEFS
In late September 2024, 200 stakeholders will gather in Denver, CO, to strategize around issues to address the opportunities and challenges food-contact compostable packaging presents for compost facilities, a practice growing in demand in communities around the U.S. but hitting roadblocks of contamination and acceptance in some locations. The strategic planning event is part of a two-year initiative, "Improving the Circularity of Compostables and Compost," a systems change effort focused on engaging pioneers from all parts of the system to come together to create a shared vision and a collective road map toward optimizing the circular economy of the US composting industry.
Extended producer responsibility laws and compostable packaging requirements are growing in popularity, and issues of labeling, upstream design of compostables, downstream compost facility processing costs, and product quality are collectively driving a need for creative and responsible solutions. For the "Improving the Circularity of Compostables and Compost" Future Search event, a steering committee of 30 thought leaders are assembling a comprehensive stakeholder participation list to engage at the three-day event Sept. 23-26, 2024, to align on common ground and create action plans for the best paths forward for the compostables and compost industries.
To promote best practices and greater efficiency in collecting organic waste following the EU’s Waste Framework Directive, ENT – in partnership with the Italian Composting Association and other organizations – developed the LIFE BIOBEST Project, which aims to guide the mainstreaming of best organic waste management and recycling practices and promote the development and distribution of high-quality compost.
In July, the project published three guidelines and a fact sheet to offer further insight into its strategic vision and practical approaches crucial for effective organic waste management.
Click the button below to see these publications.
On July 22, as part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America agenda, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced selected recipients of more than $4.3 billion in climate pollution reduction grants to implement community-driven solutions that tackle the climate crisis, reduce air pollution, advance environmental justice, and accelerate America’s clean energy transition. The 25 selected applications will fund projects in 30 states, including one Tribe, that target reducing greenhouse gas pollution from six sectors: transportation, electric power, commercial and residential buildings, industry, agriculture/natural and working lands, and waste and materials management.
In addition to the selected applications for specific projects, this first-of-its kind program secured by President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act also is helping 45 states and dozens of metro areas, Tribes and territories develop climate action plans and is the single largest effort to spur the development of concrete local climate action goals across the nation.
This is the US Composting Council's Compost Policy Pulse update for July 2024.
July's update focused primarily on several of our state chapters. The Maryland-D.C. Composting Council persuaded state regulators to not go forward with an emergency regulation that would have devastated Maryland's compost industry. The Colorado Composting Council celebrated the enactment of the state's Compostable Packaging Labeling Law. The Ohio Organics Council is working hard to expand the reach of NRCS Code 336. Details can be found in the full video and description.
These updates are brought to our members from our Public Policy and Lobbying Program, and the Legislative and Environmental Affairs Committee, a member committee that meets monthly to discuss legislation, regulation, issues, and programs.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
USCC Programs help you grow, excel, and achieve!
One of the goals of the USCC is to expand industry-wide professional development through education and certification for compost producers and professional specifiers through programs such as USCC Certification, Compost University™, and Career Center. We believe our members and member companies can make an impact on the industry through education and certification.
We offer a full range of professional development opportunities to fuel career growth for composting professionals and high performance for the companies who employ them:
August’s featured new Certified Compost Operations Manager™ is Josh Arnold from the Showcase of Citrus, Florida’s Fresh Air Attraction®.
Our CCOM™ spotlight is for those who have recently achieved said certification.
Click the button below to learn more about Josh and the USCC's Professional Certification Program.
MEMBER NEWS
SCS Engineers is excited to announce the appointment of two new national market leaders for the firm, set to take effect at the beginning of 2025. Mike Miller will take the reins from Mike McLaughlin to lead the Environmental Services practice, while Dan Cooper will lead SCS's Solid Waste practice, taking over from Bob Gardner.
This strategic move follows the announcement of its new Executive Leadership Team in January 2024, marking another step in SCS’s ongoing commitment to growth. One SCS is how the firm works proactively as one team to leverage talent across the company, applying systems and processes locally that deliver the highest quality and value to clients.
On July 29, 2024, Denali, the nation’s leading and largest recycler of organic materials, announced a collaboration with Walmart to roll out innovative depackaging services that can help improve the food waste recycling process at more than 1,000 Walmart and Sam’s Club locations nationwide.
The innovative depackaging technology aims to help drive operational efficiencies for Walmart enterprise associates. Based on early testing, the volume of potentially reusable organic content recovered from participating Walmart and Sam’s Club locations has increased by more than 60% and reduced their compactor trash by an estimated 12%. As of July 29, the program has launched in more than 1,400 Walmart and Sam’s Club locations in more than 16 markets across the country including Houston, Dallas, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Indianapolis, Phoenix, and cities across New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Connecticut – with rollout to continue nationwide into 2025.
OC Waste & Recycling (OCWR) has received the 2024 Achievement Award from the National Association of Counties (NACo) for its groundbreaking work in the Senate Bill 1383 Procurement Program & Market Development Plan. The honor acknowledges excellence in pioneering efforts to create markets for recovered organics and fostering collaboration with regional partners.
"Senate Bill 1383 set methane emissions reduction targets for California beginning in 2022, requiring jurisdictions to implement mandatory organic waste collection and reduce organic waste disposal from landfills," said Tom Koutroulis, director of OC Waste & Recycling. “OCWR created new procurement partnership opportunities with jurisdictions, businesses, and non-profits, and provided innovative habitat mitigation, all in support of SB 1383 procurement targets.”
Calling All U.S. Composters!
This August, the Composting Consortium, an industry collaboration managed by Closed Loop Partners’ Center for the Circular Economy, launched the Composter Innovator Program. The program brings full-scale composters to the table to play an active role in shaping the future of the industry on topics like contamination, policy, financing, and scaling food waste composting infrastructure. The program will take consolidated industry recommendations from the field to the desks of policymakers, regulatory agencies, compostable packaging manufacturers, and brands. Together, this group will help inform critical business and policy decisions related to innovation and funding for the composting industry.
RFPS AND PROPOSALS
This past May, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) Recycling Unit announced a $1 million pool of grants for infrastructure projects to increase access to food waste diversion and increase the state’s food waste composting and recycling rate.
EGLE’s Materials Management Division (MMD) has issued a request for proposals (RFP) to solicit projects for food waste collection and processing. The EGLE Organics Infrastructure Grant program, enabled by the Renew Michigan Fund, advances EGLE’s priorities of equitable support to Michigan communities and advancing Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s climate change priorities as expressed in the MI Healthy Climate Plan (MHCP) goal of a prosperous, healthy, equitable, carbon-neutral Michigan by 2050.
Responses are due by Aug. 28, 2024.
OPPORTUNITIES, JOBS AND GRANTS
We are seeking a detail-oriented and analytical individual to join our team. The association data manager will be responsible for managing and analyzing data to support various functions within the organization, including membership management, event planning, marketing campaigns, and strategic decision-making.
The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation today announced $332,953 in grants for Education and Outreach and Organics Management for projects to help reduce landfill waste and increase recycling education in Tennessee.
The grant program encourages and supports local communities to meet solid waste and recycling goals. Local governments can divert more waste from landfills through infrastructure upgrades and provide convenient opportunities for residents to get engaged in the process.
To apply for any of these grants, navigate to the About section on the TDEC's website and go to the Grants page.
CREF NEWS
CREF has just scheduled its last COTC to wrap up 2024 for the end of October, taking place in Seffner, FL, near Tampa. The Florida Composting Council was eager to again hold a COTC in their state to support their vibrant and growing network of composters. Early Bird pricing for this training is available until Sept. 16, and you can register for the Florida COTC at the "Learn More" button below. The preceding COTC taking place in Raleigh, NC, this September sold out six weeks ahead of its start date, so if you’re interested in joining us in Florida, don’t delay! We hope to see you there.
The annual International Compost Awareness Week poster contest will start on Sept. 1, 2024, and end Nov. 1, 2024. The winning design from this contest will be used for the ICAW 2025 poster and will promote the new theme "Sustainable Communities Begin with Compost!" This is an international contest open to anyone age 14 and older. For younger children, a new bookmark contest has been added. Children ages 10-13 can enter this contest creating a design focused on the theme “Composting in My Community.”
You can learn more about both contests and how to enter at the button below.
Attendees at CREF’s Compost Operations Training Courses often cite local compost facility tours as one of the most valuable experiences of the training, allowing them to better understand how feedstocks, systems, equipment, and markets impact day-to-day operations. However, compost facilities are working sites with heavy equipment in use, which often makes it difficult for all 40+ COTC attendees to hear what our insightful tour guides have to share. Fortunately, a recent upgrade has substantially enhanced the tour experience for COTC attendance. Through a generous contribution from Sustainable Generation, CREF was able to purchase a new tour audio system with individual headsets for each attendee to listen in on their tour guide. Going beyond a simple microphone-and-speaker setup, which is still subject to noise interference, the new headsets provide clear audio directly to each listener, making the information provided on tours more accessible. While using the new system at our last two COTCs, attendees were noticeably more engaged on the tour – it’s much easier to follow along when everything can easily be heard! We appreciate Sustainable Generation’s enthusiasm in supporting this initiative, and look forward to great facility tours for years to come. IN THE HEADLINES
Elizabeth Stewart-Severy, Aspen Journalism
ASPEN, Colo., July 14, 2024 — In October 2023, the city of Aspen implemented the first stage of its February 2023 organic waste-diversion ordinance, which requires any business with a retail food license to divert food waste from the landfill.
This summer, the City of Aspen's Waste Diversion and Recycling Program has sent staff out to start visiting and revisiting local restaurants to ensure that composting is underway. Program specialist Jimena Baldino and administrator Ainsley Brosnan-Smith say it's their job to facilitate the process and create buy-in.
“We don’t think the fine or ticket system is helpful for success,” Baldino said. “It’s about education.”
AUGUSTA, Maine, July 17, 2024 — The Maine Department of Environmental Protection is soliciting grant proposals to support the development, implementation, or improvement of programs, initiatives, or activities designed to increase the diversion of solid waste from disposal. In the spring of 2024, the department funded seven waste diversion projects across Maine with a total of $106,653.96 in awards. All interested municipalities, regional associations, and Maine businesses are encouraged to apply. Click the button below for details on proposal requirements.
CAMDEN, N.J., July 31, 2024 — Subaru of America, Inc. and the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) today announced the impressive impact of their partnership and celebrate the legacy of the Don’t Feed the Landfills Initiative. In coordination with the National Park Service (NPS), and the National Park Foundation (NPF), Subaru and NPCA collaborated with many community partners to significantly reduce the amount of waste national parks send to landfills.
Since launching in 2015, the initiative has helped the National Park System eliminate 22 million pounds of waste through reduction, recycling, composting, and educational initiatives while engaging park visitors to lessen their environmental footprint.
Upcoming Events
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