Washington State High School Senior Wins 2015 International Compost Poster Contest
Emily Mozzone
12th Grade
Maple Valley, WA
Her conviction that increasing awareness of the benefits of recycling organics to convert them to useful materials caused Emily Mozzone to enter the prize-winning poster for the annual contest sponsored by the US Composting Council.
Emily, a 12th grader at Tahoma High School in Maple Valley, WA, is the grand prize winner of the annual international contest, which drew a record 200 submissions, inspired by the theme, Be Loyal To Your Soil—Compost!
A theme running through many of the designs — showing compost on golf courses and roads and other uses—indicated that awareness is growing not only of the diversion of organic materials, but of conversion into beneficial and marketable materials, said Jeff Ziegenbein, chair of the USCC’s International Compost Awareness Week Committee and project manager for Inland Empire Regional Composting Authority in California.
“This is good news for us as the compost manufacturing industry, because it shows that outside our industry, people are understanding the critical need for compost as soil amendment, erosion control and other valuable uses,” Ziegenbein said.
“If people became more aware of the benefits of composting and began to recycle their food and yard waste products, organic wastes could easily be converted into a product that helps our planet, and the plants on it,” Emily said. “I hope that my poster can show people how truly important composting is — and that the planet will thank them for it.
The 12th grader, who is considering studying graphic design in college, and,interestingly, comes from a region where “how to compost” was the number one how-to search on Google’s search engine in 2014, will receive a $500 prize for being the top winner. Her design will be the theme of posters, T shirts and other ways of promoting International Compost Awareness Week around the world May 3-9, 2015.
International Compost Awareness Week is an annual multi-media publicity and education campaign that showcases composting and compost products, from backyards to large-scale composting facilities. Sponsors of this year’s campaign include: BioCycle Magazine, BioBag, Filtrexx International, Full Circle Organics, LLC, Vonco II, WeCare Organics, City of Los Angeles, Reotemp Instruments, Grab ‘N Gro Soil Products, Georgia Recycling Coalition, Natur-Bag, Composting News, and Erosion Control Magazine.
The U.S. Composting Council is a national organization dedicated to the development, expansion and promotion of the composting industry. Established in 1990, the USCC achieves this mission by supporting and performing compost-related research, promoting best management practices, establishing standards, educating professionals and the public about the benefits of composting and using finished compost. USCC members include compost producers, marketers, equipment manufacturers, product suppliers, academic institutions, public agencies, nonprofit groups and consulting/engineering firms.
The USCC is a non-profit 501(c) (6) organization that also directs the Composting Council Research and Education Foundation (CCREF), a 501(c) (3) charitable foundation, which administers public and private research and education activities.
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