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 From the Top of the Pile
It was so good to meet each of you at COMPOST2022. With the return of our annual conference, I am renewed by the passion and gusto that all of our members, exhibitors, sponsors and attendees bring to the industry. We saw over 1,000 attendees from diverse backgrounds sharing in the common goal of manufacturing and using compost.
I was struck by how our Opening Plenary Speaker challenged us to be indispensable to the people around us. I do believe that we can all be indispensable leaders if we make the people around us better. True leaders see the value in the people around them, take ownership for all of the issues in our orbits, and influence the culture around them through sacrifice.
USCC NEWS
The US Composting Council recognized a DC-area composting company, an upstate New York municipality, and a passionate compost policy advocate at its prestigious annual awards program, a highlight of COMPOST2022, the USCC’s annual conference in Austin, TX.
The first of four esteemed USCC achievement awards, the Organics Program of the Year Award, went to Compost Crew. Chief Executive Officer Ben Parry acquired the company in 2018. Compost Crew is based in Rockville, MD, and provides collection services throughout the DMV area by supporting community resilience and developing several modular small-scale compost facilities.
The USCC Board has adopted the Statement of Purpose designed by the DEI Workgroup. It states: “The USCC is committed to growing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) within the organization and throughout the compost industry by institutionalizing DEI in our operations and initiatives.”
Group members voted on their top priorities for breaking into groups to work on. They are: data collection around industry demographics; offering basic DEI training; and ways to improve access to USCC programs/initiatives for all persons. Watch for projects from these subgroups to come soon.
If you’re interested in joining, contact Chair Samantha Winkle or staff member Gowri Sundaram.
ADVOCACY AND PUBLIC POLICY BRIEFS
The USCC has provided comments and testimony on a new bill, just being introduced by Sen. Tom Carper (Delaware) and Sen. John Boozman (Arkansas), that would put federal focus onto collecting data on existing recycling and composting infrastructure in the U.S.
As discussed in a hearing on February 2, the bill would:
“We’ve been gratified to work with the staff of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on this bill,” said Frank Franciosi, Executive Director.
The Compost Act, as introduced by Rep. Julia Brownley last July, currently has 18 cosponsors in the House of Representatives, and is still awaiting bipartisan support.
Meanwhile, the Compost Infrastructure Coalition has been researching ways to embed funding for composting infrastructure and compost use into the upcoming US Farm Bill reauthorization, which happens every three years and has begun this winter. Several USCC members have been consulted about likely programs to provide expertise and language to the House and Senate Agriculture committees. Stay tuned for more information.
Extended Producer Responsibility bills in the recycling industry have been a hot topic, as expected, with at least eight states having introduced bills.
The Legislative and Environmental Affairs Committee in November formed a Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) TASK FORCE to strategize how to approach legislators introducing these bills as a means to:
a) Include the compost industry in the bills (in most cases in 2021, composting had not been included in the resulting funding that is generated from fees placed on packaging/containers, see the article at the link below)
b) Ensure that a fair share of the funding is directed to compost infrastructure and contamination mitigation
c) Request a “seat at the table” on advisory committees overseeing the Producer Responsibility Organizations that would control the setting and distribution of fees.
COMPOST USE
Do you know a compost entrepreneur who is considering siting a new facility?
Tell them to check the zoning on their parcel before they go for permitting, and if their municipality does not have a zoning designation for a compost land use, the USCC Model Zoning Template is now live!
This template was compiled after two years of research, discussion, debate and feedback and provides municipal land use zoning language for small, agricultural and large compost facilities, as well as consolidation facilities (where organics is collected and handled for further processing).
USCC had found that only a small portion of US counties and cities have zoning for compost use, and most of those are for agricultural use only.
STATE CHAPTER NEWS
The USCC and its Chapter network is excited to welcome the State of Texas as its newest chapter! The Board of Directors voted on January 23 at COMPOST2022 to accept the chapter after recommendation by the Chapter Advisory Committee. Organizers are Diana Frachiseur/John Soules of Texas Organic of Tyler, TX; Risa Weinberger of Weinberger & Associates, Inc.; Sam Forester; and Denise Winter. The organizers will be meeting to elect their initial Board of Directors and appoint committees. They began recruiting the volunteers at a kickoff celebration at Ironworks Grill in Austin, TX (see photos in full article).
Welcome Texas!
Did you know you can create a well-designed flyer for free, or that Farmers Markets were among the many creative ways you can raise funds and get sponsors? We also learned at the COMPOST2022 Chapter Leaders track about how Young Professionals are key to the succession plan for chapter leadership, and how volunteer celebrations and thank yous can make a big difference in retaining volunteers.
- For the chapter leaders that could not make it, we will have the recordings of these sessions in March;
- Our instructor, Jairo Gonzalez, on How to Form Successful Chapters, was unable to attend at the last minute due to illness, and this session will be offered in late February to all chapter leaders virtually - watch for the date soon.
YOUNG PROFESSIONALS
“All of my work with the YP Group is a labor of love. I've really enjoyed connecting everyone's efforts and helping to propel others forward in their work and career.” – Kristine Ellsworth
Kristine Ellsworth was awarded the Young Professional of the Year Award for 2021- 2022. Ellsworth is Steering Committee Chair and has dedicated so many hours for the betterment of the YP Program. Though she was not able to attend the conference in-person, she was happy to receive the award. She joined the YP group in July 2018. From 2019 to 2021, she served as Steering Committee lead, assisted with webinar and outreach committee, and most recently joined the ICAW planning committee.
The 2022 USCC Emerging Composter Competition (ECC) took place in person this year on Wednesday, January 26, at the COMPOST2022 Conference and Tradeshow with more excitement than ever. Thirteen finalists, including 2 international composters, were competing for a total of $6,000 in prize money. This edition of ECC saw a new voting mechanism taking place, which combined public voting and judging panel scoring. The conference attendees and judges had the opportunity to have a one-on-one discussion with the contestants.The top three winners were announced during the Closing Celebration on the same day.
Final results:
1st: Dylan Lew of Ecotone Renewables Digester -- $3,000 sponsored by Rubicon.
2nd: David Velez of TAWA -- $2,000 sponsored by Honeycomb Credit.
3rd: Jamie Blanchard-Poling of Compost Queen PBC (Curbside Micro Site Composting) -- $1,000 sponsored by McGill.
A big thank you to the ECC finalists and sponsors
- Ryan Cooper from Rubicon Global
- Chip Homer from Honeycomb Credit
- Gary Gittere from McGill
The 2022 ECC was judged by:
- Ginny Black from CREF
- Meredith Danberg Ficarelli from Common Ground Compost
- Volunteers of theYP organizing sub-committee.
Over 100 conference attendees participated in the Young Professional (YP) Happy Hour, which was organized by the Outreach Subcommittee. This evening began with career roundtable discussions on a variety of topics including permitting, investing, and marketing, but naturally lead to networking on mountain biking, traveling, and more! Participants also noted the excitement of meeting other YPs in-person after connecting at the monthly virtual happy hours. Co-chairs, Coryanne Mansell and Leilani Ching, distributed raffle prizes to attendees including USCC Membership, Republic Services swag, Kiss the Ground passes, and BioBag Compost Starter Kits.
Despite a questionable weather forecast, the Volunteer Committee lead a group of nine volunteers to the Sustainable Food Center. There they met Liz Cardinal, who gave a history and tour of of the St. David's Foundation Community Center and an overview of the Sustainable Food Center's mission: to transform the food system to nourish Austin's health, land and livelihood. Over the next several hours, the volunteers worked to change sun-faded educational signs, recover nutrition-rich soil from old raised beds, and construct three new raised beds. All-in-all, the group was told they knocked out several months of work in just a few hours! Thank you so much to all who participated, and to the members of the planning committee: Eric Schneider, Aaron Friedman-Heiman, Sam Laveson, and Jana Pearce.
Mentees and mentors were able to meet in person and snap a photo with each other at the YP booth. One our mentees, Jamie Blanchard-Poling, even won 3rd place in the Emerging Composter Competition! Many mentees connected at the YP booth and met up during the YP Happy Hour. Future mentors stopped by the YP booth and signed up to apply to be a mentor in 2022. Keep an eye out for the 2022 mentorship application!
Here is the picture of Mentor Linda Norris-Waldt from USCC and her mentee Esther Rose-Wilen at COMPOST2022. What a great connection made through the mentoring program and having met in person at the conference.
YP booth at a Glance:
We introduced the first YP booth at the conference which turned out to be very successful. The booth was totally run by the YP leadership team and the committees where lot of networking happened. Thanks to Leilani Ching outreach co-chair for designing the banner.
Breakfast for the Young Professionals:
YP breakfast was introduced this year at COMPOST2022 to thank all the hard work of the YP committees. We also welcomed new YPS to join the breakfast. Thanks to sponsors Biobag & Atlas Organics.
Monthy Happy Hours:
We will continue meeting you all for monthly virtual happy hour on first Thursday @ 7pm Eastern. The upcoming is on Thursday March 3rd 7pm EST. Below is the zoom meeting details.
Topic: YPG happy hour
Time: Mar 3, 2022 07:00 PM Indiana (East)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85607596445
Meeting ID: 856 0759 6445
Passcode: YPG2021
MEMBER NEWS
Rotochopper's new MT Series trommel screens deliver productivity and screening efficiency with a compact footprint, making it ideal for operations of any size. A large screening area and up to 135 HP provide high-volume throughput of compost, organic soil, mulch, biomass, and waste with minimal material handling. The MT Series offers seamless integration with existing equipment, streamlining overall operations, and comes backed with Rotochopper's customer support.
The Common Ground Compost Seed Series begins on February 7 and will introduce
participants to key topics and issues in the world of discard studies - a growing, transdisciplinary field that centers how waste impacts our world. From the role of waste in pop culture to the lifesaving care work of sanitation workers to the relationship between death care and waste inequity, and so much more, this series serves as a point of departure for participants to learn more about how they can take action steps toward being anti-colonial in their approach to climate justice. Each virtual event will take place over Zoom and last an hour with time for Q+A in the final 10-15 minutes. The host of the series is journalist, Discard Studies Co-Editor, philosophy graduate student, and TRUE Advisor Jesi Taylor, Common Ground Compost’s Education Advocacy Manager. Her work and research lies at the intersection of Black Studies, Genocide Studies, Ethics, and Legal Theory with a focus on how waste mismanagement disproportionately impacts criminalized and chronically disenfranchised communities. RFPS AND PROPOSALSPosted by Megan Smalley
The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) along with Falls Church, Virginia-based The Recycling Partnership have launched a new grant program to provide recycling education assistance to small communities in Michigan. The Michigan Small Community Education Grant Program will accept applications now through October 2022.
OPPORTUNITIES, JOBS AND GRANTS
Get your hands on the latest in compost and sustainability jobs by taking 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 Have questions? Contact Gowri Sundaram at gsundaram@compostingcouncil.org.
Primary Category: Marketing Communications
Type of Position: Full-Time The role of the PR/Marketing Coordinator is to keep media, residents, public officials, customers, and employees informed about key changes, improvements, and benefits throughout the Atlas Organics network. We are recruiting for all levels of expertise. We are looking for people who can tell the story of Atlas Organics, our organics recycling mission and business opportunities through social/digital media, video, photos, blogs, press releases, speeches, and events.
CREF NEWS
IN THE HEADLINESAs a young, savvy company using the latest in technology, data, and science to create a unique, sustainable solution for cities and municipalities while providing consumers with the highest-quality, STA Certified and OMRI listed compost for use in a various growing application, Atlas Organics shows no signs of slowing down.
Upcoming Events
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The first COTC of 2022 will be held in Santa Rosa, California, March 21-25. Registration is already open with the Early Bird discount rate of $100 off available until February 7. Learn more about this course and how to register here: 
CREF will be holding its next webinar, Introduction to Compost Odor Management: Process and Public Relations, on March 2 at 2 p.m. (EST). The focus will be looking at a root cause approach to managing composting odors through better understanding and control of process conditions. Also covered will be how odor is measured and basic mitigation steps, plus more details on this subject. Included will also be a look at community and neighbor interactions around odor and how to handle public relations issues. Tim O’Neill, from ECS, and Ginny Black, CREF Trustee Chair, will be presenting. Learn more about the webinar 
