Advocacy

“Advocacy” may be defined as the act of arguing in favor of something, such as a cause, idea, or policy.

We recognize that advocacy is one of the core functions of the US Composting Council, indeed one of the main reasons many people join a trade association. That’s because as a group we have more power to argue for our cause than most of our members have individually.

And advocate we do!  We fight against policies and proposals that would hurt our members or our industry. Fighting the repeal of bans on landfilling yard trimmings or the impacts of persistent herbicides all fall into this category.  We write letters that support or oppose various pieces of legislation at the federal, state or local levels, and provide guidance for our members to do the same. Click HERE to see samples of these letters.

Model legislation and regulations, such as our Model Compost Rule Template, is an advocacy step we have taken to help states and regulators form good regulations. Looking to introduce expanded bans on food residuals or encouraging a state’s Department of Transportation to specify STA-certified compost are other forward-looking initiatives we have undertaken.

The USCC’s advocacy activities are guided by its Legislative and Environmental Affairs Committee.  The 2018 Committee is co-chaired by Neil Edgar of the California Compost Coalition and Marcus Zbinden of the Carver County (MN) Environmental Services Department.

The committee receives staff support from Cary Oshins. Please contact us if you have an issue you would like to raise or would like to get involved in this very active committee.