On June 11, the North Carolina Composting Council held its annual meeting in Raleigh. This year, their theme was “Strong Economies and Communities Start with Compost,” which highlights the powerful role composting plays in shaping resilient local systems and the robust economic opportunity the composting industry has in North Carolina.
Chapter members from around the state gathered to talk about compost operations, review state and federal policy, and celebrate the chapter's achievements in the past year. Their successes included a Compost Operator Training Course (COTC) attended by over 40 participants; the launch of their webinar series and two new social media platforms, YouTube and Linkedin; providing over $11,000 in grants and scholarships; and defending composters by lobbying for their inclusion as an agricultural service in the North Carolina Right to Farm Defense, which is an important regulatory distinction. Keynote speaker Dr. Kathleen Liang spoke about entrepreneurial strategies to integrate composting concepts into community development using the framework of the ‘bioeconomy,’ and answered questions along with other industry experts in a panel on Compost’s Role in infrastructure, policy, and agriculture.
Further, presentations were heard from the 2025 grant recipients. Sustainable Sandhills, a nonprofit that works to create climate-resilient communities in Cumberland County, NC, earned funding to kickstart a composting pilot program at a local elementary school which will serve as a scalable model for other schools in the county. Appalachian State University, which has been composting on their campus since 1999, will use grant funding to grow their compost operations and expand a compost drop-off program into Boone and the High Country. And lastly, the money granted to Making Pitt Fit Community Garden will be used to grow their vermicomposting infrastructure and community education programs that benefit Pitt County. These grant recipients are a strong representation of the many composting programs, nonprofits, and companies that make up the robust and resilient North Carolina composting field.