Remembering Dr. Eliot Epstein

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.

I first met Eliot at the first US Composting Council Conference (then, the Solid Waste Composting Council) in 1990 in Washington, D.C. At that time, I was running one of the first biosolids compost brokerage companies in the United States. Eliot was the President of E&A Environmental, but I had known him because of his work at Beltsville, Maryland, where an amazing group of talent was pulled together to figure how to manufacture biosolids (then sewage sludge) into compost. I read much of what he had written, especially things that related to compost quality and end use. He was larger than life to me – and I guess, somewhat of a hero. He was smart, he spoke his mind, and his energy level was amazing. Later at that same conference, the first open Board elections for the USCC took place. I ran in the small business category – Eliot voted for me and I actually won (as did Eliot).

I got to see how he interacted with other board members, and watched him at conferences, where people surrounded him non-stop – to seek his advice or pose a scientific question. He was everywhere … it seemed like he spoke at every conference and he was incredibly well written, writing for BioCycle and scientific journals, as well as authoring books on compost production. He always gave back, and that was one of the great lessons that he taught me. Tha and that you must always value your reputation, protect it and never do anything to tarnish it. 

I was so lucky to have reached out to him in 1991, when I was ready to move on from my first business. I called Eliot and reintroduced myself, then asked him if he knew anyone looking for somebody to run their compost marketing program. He told me that he would think about it, but that I should also send him my resume to review. Two weeks later, he called me and asked me to come up to Massachusetts, to meet his partner, and consider joining their company.  I did just that and spent seven years working with him and a talented E&A Environmental Consultants team.

I cherished business trips where we had time to spend together – one-on-one. He lived such an incredible life, was tireless in his endeavors, and was an incredible road warrior. But even more than that, he was a fair-minded person, who accepted new information. He inspired those around him to seek knowledge, to give back and to dedicate themselves to our industry.

Eliot, thank you for your ability to inspire and your willingness to provide those who knew you with life lessons. You will be missed, but not forgotten.

Ron Alexander
Principal
R. Alexander Associates, Inc.