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 From the Top of the Pile
The USCC has joined the US Compost Infrastructure Coalition (USCIC). This coalition of 16 organizations from around the country is focused on the goal of providing federal compost funding. The USCIC brings together a vital cross section of the US organics recycling community, associations working on sustainable materials, and other stakeholders to support innovative and responsible waste reduction and recovery solutions like composting.
Refed reports, that by investing in compost manufacturing infrastructure, training, and policy, 13.8 million tons of food scraps can be diverted annually from landfills through compost manufacturing, reducing an estimated 4.94 million tons in greenhouse gas equivalents, while creating over 14,200 new jobs. This is the only recycling process that provides a valued end-product of the processing. Centralized Compost Manufacturing (CCMF) can create more than 6 million tons of compost product annually to fuel growth in the sustainable farming, stormwater management and environmental remediation markets. The ReFED report shows that CCMF can be expanded in roughly half of the largest municipal areas that currently generate the most food scrap waste in the US.
USCC NEWS
Thank you for your loyalty and collaboration with your fellow members in the US Composting Council! The US Composting Council is so glad to have you as a member. June 30, 2021 is USCC's end date for current memberships. Please remit payment by June 30 to avoid losing access to any member benefits. If you would like to upgrade to a higher membership level, reach out to membership manager Eric Hudiburg at ehudiburg@compostingcouncil.org. Higher membership levels offer greater access to the entire USCC community. CLICK HERE to access your dues invoice or make a direct payment.  By composters, for composters: The USCC is hosting a Virtual Conference on Compostables in June and July. This three-day conference consists of two, two-hour workshops on June 17 and 24 and a summit on July 15. We hope this conference will give you the tools to decide for yourself about when and how you accept compostables.
WORKSHOP 1: WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE COMPOSTABLE?
Background, Certifications, Testing and Labeling June 17, 2021, 2-4 p.m. EDT WORKSHOP 2: REDUCING CONTAMINATION
Working with generators, haulers, and upfront systems June 24, 2021, 2-4 p.m. EDT SUMMIT: HOW DO YOU DECIDE?
Presenting Pros, Cons, and how to change the balance July 15, 2021, 2-4 p.m. EDT
The USCC’s Annual Conference and Tradeshow is the premier professional meeting for composting, organics recycling, and related topics. SPEAKERS and WORKSHOPS will be IN-PERSON in Austin.
COMPOST2022 is a big deal for a number of reasons. First, it will be our first in-person conference since the pandemic shut us down last year. Secondly, COMPOST2022 will be our 30th annual conference and tradeshow. We are going big, and we think this is fitting considering we will be in TEXAS!
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.
May 2011 Biocycle Connect Article: Recycled Organic Products and Phosphorus November 2016 Biocycle Article: Phosphorus And Compost Use Dynamics
Compost is Dirty, the USCC’s first-ever roundtable hosted by Brian Fleury, CCOM, of WeCare Denali and Todd Dunderdale, CCP, of Komptech Americas, was a unique and candid look into the compost industry. Brian and Todd both brought a wealth of experience to the table, and we dove into everything from cleaning out tanker trucks to the state of supply chain management in the COVID era.
Thank you to our sponsor, Komptech Americas, for their continued support of the council and the compost industry as a whole.
Why I chose to pursue the Certified Compost Operations Manager Certification ... "I pursued USCC Certification because I believe certification elevates the professionalism of our industry and the various career paths our industry needs to attract high caliber individuals at all levels of the operation."
ADVOCACY AND PUBLIC POLICY BRIEFSUSCC sent this letter with comments on the 2019 New York State Food Scraps Recycling Law, which is set to go into effect on January 1, 2022. When passed, the law carved out allowances for mixed waste composting due to an already-operating facility in Delaware County; the carve-out could discourage source separation of organics collected under the laws provisions. In the letter, the USCC urged regulators to adjust language to encourage generator source separation and will monitor the law’s implementation. The NC Composting Council, USCC’s North Carolina Chapter, has drafted two bills on compost and healthy soils that have been introduced in the North Carolina House of Representatives.
HB 637, the Compost Procurement Act, builds awareness of the important role of the composting industry in NC by providing guidance for state and local governments to purchase compost for use in agriculture, landscaping and infrastructure projects, and to buy back compost from compost contractors, while HB 798, The North Carolina Healthy Soils Act, recognizes that soil health encompasses the overall composition and fertility of soil.
Additional resources are now available on the USCC website around the issue of Perfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in compost. A task group oversaw the gathering of resources, which has the goal of providing talking points, information and understanding as the science on this issue continues to stay in the news. USCC has also requested research by the Compost Research & Education Foundation on the topic.
COMPOST USETools to sell more compost continues to be on the top of everyone’s minds. Three ways the USCC helps you sell more are through the Seal of Testing Assurance (STA) Program, providing content, and suggesting ways to use the content. Social media rapidly increases customer awareness. A successful campaign needs interesting content, reach and engagement. The Market Development Committee (MDC) has been going further to help you, through creating social media content, brochures, marketing schedules, and outreach suggestions to make your job easier. However, do you need help knowing what to do once you have those great resources? In April, the MDC held a webinar on the 9 Plug & Play Tools to Market Your STA Certified Compost® This Afternoon. The MDC continues to create new content and new webinars to guide you in promoting your finished compost.
The USCC has recognized that good technology is key to good experiences. Over the years, staff have worked hard to find great tools, trying out several different databases. We discovered what the industry needs is not available ready-made, and the existing tools do not allow modifications. Thank you all for your feedback and patience as we experimented on improvements. So, six months ago we selected an all-star experienced computer programmer and began building a database for the STA Program - from scratch! This new database we’re calling the Gateway. It is the gateway to ease-of-use and increased marketing capabilities. This new technology will make signing the renewal contract and working with labs easier, as well as provide increased marketing opportunities.
The Seal of Testing Assurance (STA) Program agreement exists to protect the STA Certified Compost® brand. The more end users value the brand, the more compost you each will sell. The STA Program is foundational to the success of the USCC’s mission as it provides not only a consistent, science based, compost analytical standard, but also undergirds both the credibility and accountability of its participants, which in turn delivers confidence to end users in compost manufactures and their products. The STA Advisory Committee (STAAC) was formed a year ago to focus on tightening up the STA Program requirements and day-to-day maintenance. Committee members include two compost manufacturers, two industry consultants, a lab professional, STA Program Manager, and USCC Executive Director, each with decades of experience in their field. Here are the improvements we have identified and incorporated into this year’s contract: updated definition of compost, permission for committees to review anonymized test results, fraud penalties, prorations for new applications, and a fast-track fee option for new product applications. Thank you for understanding that tighter contract rules are needed to protect the STA brand and, ultimately, sell more compost.
The fees for the STA Program keep the program strong. We have heard you, that you are looking for greater services from this program. To accommodate this, greater funding is needed for this STA Program. These fees pay for staff time to administer the program, create marketing materials for you, as well as maintain and upgrade technology. Below find out more about what the program fees are used for, as well as see the new fee structure. Thank you for understanding that greater funding is needed to increase the services we offer you for this compost product marketing program, the STA Program.
STA program renewals are delayed two months, while we refine the new Gateway database. The new database will provide for easier and more timely renewal of your STA program pParticipation, as well as increased services. The STA renewal letters are anticipated to be sent to you in July, which is two months later than usual. Therefore, the deadline is extended as well. It is IMPORTANT to complete and submit your renewal BEFORE September 1, 2021 to avoid late fees and suspension from website and program participation.
This year has been an excellent one for the Seal of Testing Assurance (STA) Certified Compost Program. STA has experienced record numbers of new products joining. Thus far this year, 28 new products have joined, double that of previous years! We are here to help you sell more compost through the STA Program. Please welcome:
First Half of May 2021
American Compost - Compost Yard
Dallas Area Municipal Authority - DAMA's Yard Waste Facility
Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community - SMSC Organics Recycling Facility
STATE CHAPTER NEWSThe Chapter Advisory Council has a vacancy, and we need a representative to help bring the voice of chapters to the table as USCC plans development of chapter services and new chapters. The group tackles key issues, having designed the recently approved New Chapter Application Process and the design of the new Regional Composting Council Alliances, as well as a Chapters Listening Tour and review of the Chapter Supplementary Funding process. Any chapter leader (a board member or committee chair) can apply. The term is two years, and the group meets monthly (at this time, the second Tuesday of each month at 1 p..m ET). View the full job description and apply today.
Two USCC chapters are bringing in new presidents this spring, and we welcome them!
Ryan Duckett, PE, is a Senior Project Engineer at SCS Engineers in Virginia. He also serves as the President of the Virginia Composting Council and a board member of the Solid Waste Association of North America, Old Dominion Chapter. As a consulting engineer, he works on various design projects, feasibility evaluations, financial analyses and planning efforts to support materials management programs and assets, such as composting and other organics processing, collection systems, drop-off and transfer facilities, MRFs, and landfills. He supports work involving Sustainable Materials Management (SMM), Integrated Solid Waste Management (ISWM), and broader sustainability issues throughout the mid-Atlantic and nationwide. Ryan can be reached via the SCS Engineers website at www.scsengineers.com/about-scs/staff.
Muriel Williman has been a Solid Waste professional for 25 years, focusing on waste reduction and material management through recycling and composting practices and markets. She worked for 18 years in Orange County, NC, leading the state with 64% waste reduction through comprehensive waste reduction programs and communications, especially composting: indoors and out, for events, in businesses, local government, and commercial collections. She has influenced local and regional programs, practices and policy to incorporate food waste reduction and composting strategies. She is now Senior Assistant Solid Waste Manager for the City of Durham, NC, where she oversees the daily operation of the city’s Solid Waste Disposal and Recycling Center, which holds a regional Transfer Station, Convenience Center, and Type 1 composting facility.
The Tennessee Composting Council is rolling out its new website. You can now check out their board, and watch for other updates soon!
Nearly 200 people tuned in to a webinar organized and sponsored by the North Carolina Composting Council for International Compost Awareness Week featuring Finian Makepeace of Kiss the Ground, who spoke about the importance of the use of compost in regenerative agriculture and climate mitigation. The Minnesota, California, Nebraska and Colorado chapters co-sponsored the webinar.
YOUNG PROFESSIONALS
The YP Mentoring Program application period has closed, and the Mentoring Committee is working on matching mentees with mentors. As always, there are more mentees that have applied than mentors. If anyone would like to be a mentor for this year, we are still considering submissions. You can get PDHs for USCC certification by sharing your knowledge and experience to upcoming professionals. Our appreciation goes out to Committee Chair Shelby Hoglund, along with committee members Antoine Abou Moussa, Natasha Dyer and Claire Dakhlia who are volunteering their time for the selection process.
YP celebrated ICAW this year in their YP Happy Hour. ICAW Chair Amy Freeman, Beth Simone and Wayne Howard from CREF joined the YPs.
Finally, Felipe Pedrazzi, chair of the Webinar Committee, is working in full swing for the upcoming YP webinar. Watch out for the upcoming webinar announcement soon!
Coryanne Mansell is the Strategic Services Representative at Center for EcoTechnology (CET). Cory supports CET’s Wasted Food Solutions efforts by leading stakeholder engagement processes and providing on-site technical assistance to businesses and institutions. Through this work, Cory developed a thorough understanding of the marketplace conditions for wasted food. Cory also coordinated CET’s partnership with Harvard Food Law and Policy Clinic to develop a toolkit for states and cities considering organic waste bans, and the partnership with BioCycle to create the Community Toolkit for leaf and yard composting facilities to add food scraps.
MEMBER NEWSThe Washington Organic Recycling Council (WORC), one of the longest-serving state organics associations in the U.S., has elected a board of all but one USCC members for the coming year.
Congratulations to USCC members Kris Adair, Silver Springs Organics, LLC; Jan Allen, Impact Bioenergy; Nate Fleming, Dirt Hugger; Kate Kurtz, Seattle Public Utilities; Troy Lautenbach, Skagit Soils, Inc.; Elizabeth Szorad, Recology, King County; Janet Thoman, Compost Manufacturing Alliance; and Jeff West, Olympic Organics.
The Corporate Leadership Council took a trip along the “compostables supply chain” at its Q2 meeting, hearing from 12 people who have stops along the way from design of a compostable product to sale of the finished compost. Speakers were Eric Klingenberg, Mars (CCLC member); Shannon Pinc, Natureworks (CCLC member); Rich Cohen, Elevate Packaging; Wendell Simonson, BPI; Susan Thoman, CMA; Solange Ackrill, PURPod and Club Coffee (CCLC member); Dawn Rhodes, Chick Fil-A (CCLC member); Melissa Tashjian, Compost Crusader; Dan Goosen, Green Mountain Compost; and Ryan Cerrato, WeCare Denali.
South Carolina-based recycling firm Green Energy Biofuel recently acquired ReSoil, a composting facility in Kershaw County, one of the latest moves the growing company has made in over a decade to increase its services and open new opportunities for industrial processors near and far. GEB is making significant investments in its new composting business to help large waste generators in the region find a landfill-free option for disposal of difficult organic waste to meet regulatory and corporate demands as well as evolving consumer expectations.
“We’ve invested $160,000 in ReSoil before we even closed on the purchase - and we’re not done,” says BioJoe Renwick, GEB co-founder. “In 12 months, we’ll have put nearly $2 million into the composting business.”
(Source: WTVG) The city of Bowling Green, Ohio, has launched a new six-month composting pilot program. Instead of sending their food scraps to landfills, residents can divert their waste to gardens. Bowling Green residents can now drop off their food waste in green bins set up on Tarragon Road off of East Poe. Just six days into this pilot program, it’s already way more successful than anyone expected.
In the early ‘90s, San Francisco commissioned an engineering study to analyze the material it was sending to landfill. The report showed much of the material could have been composted instead. So, in 1996 the City asked Recology to see if we could collect food scraps separately from other trash and test whether San Franciscans would participate in a curbside composting collection program.
Industry magazines quoted managers at other trash companies who said collecting food scraps separately had never been tried in this country and would never work.
But San Francisco residents, businesses, city officials, and Recology employee-owners fully embraced curbside collection for food scraps and yard trimmings. In the process, we reinvented the way our city manages discarded material, and we demonstrated that participating in curbside composting benefits the environment in multiple ways.
The Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI) certifies compostable products that meet ASTM D6400 and ASTM D6868 standards for composability. Through rigorous lab testing, BPI Certification proves that a material will safely compost in a composting facility, leaving behind no toxic residue or microplastics.
NatureWorks continues to grow its portfolio of Ingeo™ biopolymers specially designed for additive manufacturing with the introduction of Ingeo 3D700 for use in large-format 3D printing. Monofilaments made with Ingeo biopolymer PLA are broadly used in the desktop 3D printing market having notable performance characteristics such as precise detail, good adhesion to build plates with no heating needed, reduced warping or curling, and low odor while printing. These properties make Ingeo well-suited for 3D printing using many different types of printers and for a broad range of printing applications from consumer-level to industrial applications.
OPPORTUNITIES, JOBS AND GRANTSDenali Water Solutions is seeking an Environmental Manager for its project in Des Moines, IA. This position will report to the appropriate Senior Environmental Manager. The essential duties of this position require providing on-site environmental service during normal business hours to supply environmental and managerial oversight of the land application of biosolids for the Des Moines project.
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
Having questions? Contact Gowri Sundaram at gsundaram@compostingcouncil.org.
The NextCycle Michigan Food, Liquids, Organic Waste Systems (FLOWS) Innovation Challenge Track opened the application period for organics recovery ideas on April 30, 2021. Selected teams for the FLOWS Track will participate in an incubator style experience to advance their ideas to increase/improve food recovery and collection, increase finished compost end markets, create innovative uses for wood waste and other projects to improve organics recovery in Michigan.
CREF NEWS
What it all comes down to is that because of all this hard work, greater numbers of people across the country now know more about the benefits of organics recycling and compost use, ultimately leading to more yard and food waste being composted and more people using compost. What’s the next step for ICAW? It’s to pick the new theme sometime this summer and then start the new poster and video contests early in the fall. If you have an idea for a theme you would like the ICAW Committee to consider, let us know by the first week of June. Send an email to info@compostfoundation.org.
There is still time to register for the California Compost Manufacturing Training: Principles and Practices coming up June 8-10. The first two days of the training will be livestreamed, so anyone throughout the country and world can attend. The third optional day will be self-driven site visits to different facilities offered in both northern and southern California. More details are available on the event webpage.
Also, don’t forget to register for the upcoming CREF Webinar: Compost: Carbon Sequestration & Climate Change. Sally Brown, Andrew Carpenter and Ginny Black will be presenting.
Upcoming Events
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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.
After an arduous process over the course of five years, the USCC has secured a copyright for its main logo. Though our logo has been trademarked for years, the legal protections afforded to a trademark are minimal. The following logo is reserved for official council use. As members, you are requested to use the Proud Member and Seal of Testing Assurance Program 
The US Composting Council joined 46 other nonprofits, Universities, and municipal governments in calling for action on food waste and food insecurity. With extra food in the fields that could go to the millions of Americans who are hungry, the time to act is now! The US Food Loss & Waste Policy Action Plan for Congress and the Administration calls for the following:
With an extensive background in heavy equipment, renewable biomass fuels processing, operations management and business development/revenue generation, Kurt has built a career focused on customer solutions, process improvement and sustainable economies. In his current position, he has utilized his Operations Management knowledge to built a first-class organics recycling and composting facility focused on product manufacturing and demand pull solutions in a truly circular economy model. In this highly regulated industry, he has achieved the highest level of compliance while building market awareness and reinventing the business revenue model. Prior to joining SA Recycling, Kurt spent 18 years with biomass processing and forestry equipment manufacturer USCC member Morbark, Inc. While at Morbark, Kurt was instrumental in promoting and building biomass and organic waste solutions for the rapidly expanding “green waste” recycling sector. In addition, he provided innovative forestry solutions to tackle the bark beetle infestation impacting Southern California mountain communities. His work at Morbark also brought him to the agricultural and renewable energy sectors.
Laurel Cohen is pursuing a master's degree in environmental management at Duke University's Nicholas School of the Environment, concentrating in environmental economics and politics. Laurel is from Orlando, FL, and got her B.A. in economics from Yale University. She loves gardening, music, sharing meals with people, playing sports, and reading poetry and books.
To encourage the formation of chapters in more states, the USCC now offers a Regional Composting Council Alliance model to help contiguous states who want to grow their connections with others in their state and region in preparation for qualifying for a formal USCC State Chapter. Read about the 
Ryan Duckett, Virginia Composting Council
Muriel William, North Carolina Composting Council
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment is requesting proposals. In addition to the information provided below, the contract documents including the RFP are attached for reference. Please note that the proposal submission deadline is June 7, 2021.
The Foundation’s Board of Trustees, CREF staff and members of the ICAW Committee would like to thank everyone who worked so hard for International Compost Awareness Week this year. It was difficult to even keep up with everything going on across the country. From the kick-off event held at Brooklyn Grange, a New York rooftop farm, to the chapters coming together to hold a fascinating webinar with Finian Makepeace from Kiss the Ground, to daily events offered in Illinois, Minnesota, Florida and so many other places, it was very exciting to see the level of engagement and enthusiasm from so many.
CREF’s training promises in-person training as the Compost Operations Training Course (COTC) returns. The first COTC opportunity arrives in August at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln where the Foundation is working to offer a unique on-campus experience for the training. In Raleigh, NC, the North Carolina Composting Council is gearing up for a limited-seating COTC in September. A five-day training will finish out the year in Fort Collins, Colorado, this November. The COTCs will adhere to any federal, state and locally mandated COVID-19 precautions to ensure the safest trainings possible. To see the full 2021 COTC schedule or register for any of these trainings, visit the 
